My Dream My Life (Old Version)
by Marine Brother Shran
Summary: Samus Aran, the new Brawler of Brawler is intrigued by the enigma Zelda. Curiosity piques her interest as she tries to solve the mystery behind her. But what she finds is more than she could ever ask for. Samus & Zelda Rewritten now.
1. Chapter 1

**My Dream, My Life**

**Chapter I**

**Summary: Samus Aran, the new Brawler of Brawler is intrigued by the enigma Zelda. Curiosity piques her interest as she tries to solve the mystery behind her. But what she finds is more than she could ever ask for.**

"COMPETITOR DEFEATED!" the computer boomed, as Mario rocketed out of the arena. Final match of a big tournament and the entire crowd was roaring in absolute glee and delight at the carnage that rocked the stadium.

The last few days had been a host to a special: a brawl between the top 16 fighters of the Super Smash Brothers League, in bouts of sudden death combat as they fought to make their way to the top for a chance to fight in the championship battle and claim the prize and the title "Brawler of Brawlers". Among them had been mighty legends, or new faces that made big names for themselves. Such warriors as Link of Hyrule, Samus Aran the bounty hunter, Mario of the Mushroom Kingdom, Solid Snake of America, Fox McCloud of Star Fox Squadron, and even the great Pikachu from Pallet Town fought in this very ring.

Such warriors were presently battling it out, with Mario having been eliminated just moments prior.

The round was down to the wire as Samus, Link, and Snake prepared to face off one another, each prepared to eliminate the two and claim the victory as their own.

Studying her opponents, Samus mentally went over the combat capabilities of Link and Snake. Powerful warriors in their own rights, Samus knew that they had to be handled differently. Taking glances at the two of them, a plan of action formed in her mind. Although Link was a powerful warrior, Snake has a much deadly arsenal at his disposal, which could seriously hinder her chances of victory.

Everyone watched as all warriors sprang into action as they all entered into a vicious swirl of hand-to-hand combat.

Link let out a battle-cry as he dashed forward to strike down Samus.

Snake simply smirked as his plan of attack was settled and determined.

Samus immediately leapt into action.

Switching into her morph ball, she immediately ducked under Link's slash and charged straight on towards Snake.

Smirking at the sudden opportune moment of attack, he drew his combat blade and charged headlong straight towards Samus. Knowing that his points of attacks were the joints, he lunged forward to attack. However, his attack was thwarted as at the last second, Samus sidestepped as the blade harmlessly bounced off the massive right shoulder guard. Her counter attack was swift and brutal as she immediately kneed up hard in the stomach before viciously punching him across the face, sending him flying.

Hearing Link's battle cry, Samus immediately turned around and fired her grapple beam, ensnaring him in its grasp before throwing him clear across the arena. Her attention on Snake, she stumbled back a bit when a particularly powerful punch to her head connected. The moment of laxity was enough when she felt a solid block impacted against her torso before exploding sending her flying back. Quickly recovering, she back flipped once onto her feet and dashed forward again, intent on making him pay for his attack.

Pulling a smoke bomb from his arsenal, Snake pulled the pin and tossed it forward and watched as it released a veil of smoke, screening him from Samus's vision. He quickly pulled back and whipped out his missile launcher again, this time with the intension of finishing Samus off with a well aimed shot that would send her out of the arena.

However, before his attack could be executed, his vision was suddenly replaced with the image of a barrel. In the instant it took to charge the shot, Samus had boosted straight into his position, effectively stunting not only his attack, but also his chances to win the tournament.

"You lose," she declared, releasing the charged shot and sending Snake flying sky-high and clear of the ring's boundaries.

"COMPETITOR DEFEATED!" the PA boomed again.

Turning her attention towards Link, Samus immediately backed off from another of Link's attacks. Arming a missile, she quickly fired it towards Link, only to watch him deflect the attack with his shield and carried on forth with a thrust. Ducking underneath the attack, she immediately swept his feet from under him and quickly brought her fist down into his stomach ramming him hard into the ground.

Picking up the fallen warrior, she tossed him high into the air and armed a Super Missile, and launched it with the intension of ending the battle right there and now. However, her thoughts were cut short as Link recovered enough to block the missile with his shield, with the explosion sent him flying hard back down onto the arena. Of course, it only gave Samus another means to attack him. Arming her cannon, she levelled it off and aimed towards Link and made her way over towards the downed swordsman.

Link dug the Master Sword into the ground as he used it as a crutch to help himself up. Samus had gotten stronger; that much was certain. He couldn't help but be amazed at how much more ruthlessly efficient she had become as a fighter. Despite his admiration of what she had become, he did not plan on giving up this battle without a fight. This would be his victory; not Samus's. With renewed vigour, Link immediately drew his bow and arrow and took aim.

Samus raised an eyebrow as to why Link had procured a bow and arrow, knowing full well that she would destroy the bolt long before it reached her. However, it mattered little to her, as she was going to end this here and now. Denying him the possibility of having a steady aim, she ran forward and immediately began to zigzag throwing off his aim. Despite this, he fired anyway as she easily sidestepped the bolt, only to find a bomb immediately throw at her as it exploded on impact, stopping her charge and leaving her in a veil of grey.

The field ringed as the Master Sword had struck Samus's armour. Kicking off, Link pulled the blade free from wherever he had embedded the blade and charged in to strike again. However, a hand shot out from the clearing smoke, grabbing the blade and throwing Link right to the edge of the terrain. Samus was hot on him as she kicked his prone form harshly into the air, following up with another Super Missile, trained straight for Link as it exploded on contact, denying him victory.

The crowd immediately broke into absolute uproar as they watched the final contestant be blown away by the full force of Samus. Everyone cheered in joy as they watched their victor turned to face the platform that was lowered before her.

Letting out a sigh, Samus waited patiently for the award to be presented her, and then she would be on her way. No delays, no interruptions, just get her prize and out. Sometimes, she wondered why she entered this competition, but every time she did, she would remind herself of what she wanted out of this.

When she had first heard of this particular competition, she had been particularly wary of it, considering that she had participated in these matches before, and did not find many warriors who were worth her time. Although there were a few names that stuck out in her mind, the overall roster was comparatively weak. If this was supposed to be a League of the all the greatest warriors in the known universe, it did not impress her in the slightest.

It had gotten to the point that she had received a few other invitations, all of which she had turned down in preference to resume her hunt of the Space Pirates and the Metroids. However, this particular invitation had stood out somewhat.

It was the prize money.

Hosted by Princess Zelda of Hyrule, she had stated that the prize would be the title "Brawler of Brawlers", and a cash prize of 100,000 rupees. The number floored Samus. Converted into Federation Credits, the resulting value covered a massive portion of her yearly income. She had considered not participating, but this was a rare chance to possibly cover expenses she had incurred in previous missions, and be able to upgrade her ship in addition to that.

The end result was now she was here, ready and waiting for the Princess to present her the reward.

The plan was simple: Enter the competition, defeat the competition, claim her award and cash it in, and then head out, skipping the post-competition pleasantries and resume her daily life. That was all there was to it.

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Zelda took a deep breath as she prepared to step on the platform that would teleport her to the arena. There she would present the champion of the competition the title belt, and prize money. That was there was to it. Or at least she had initially thought.

Having watched the competition, Zelda wondered what the warrior was like. She had almost mistaken Samus as male, if it were not for her registration which clearly stated female. Of course, it only fuelled her curiosity of the armour-clad warrior, who had yet to remove her armour.

Zelda had watched Samus from the VIP box above, and had been quite impressed with what she had witnessed. Supreme agility, lightning reflexes, powerful discipline, and raging strength, Samus had stood out among all the competitors. She had to admit that Samus was on a completely different league compared to most of the other competitors; even her champion Link stood on a different level than Samus.

But not only that, when she saw her profile picture, she felt something towards the blond warrior. She briefly wondered if it had something to do with the dreams she had been having lately, but she didn't let it bother her too much. Now was not the time to think about such things. She'd dwell on it a bit later.

Zelda smiled inwardly to herself and stepped onto the platform. Soon she would be able to meet Samus in person.

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Samus watched dispassionately as Princess Zelda materialized on the platform. She had seen the Princess before, and wasn't particularly impressed with her, both as a fighter and as a princess. As a fighter, her combat capabilities were amateur at best. From what she had seen, Zelda's basics were decent, but it wasn't something that most competitors couldn't easily deal with. Her only real ace in the hole was her alternate form she saw her use during those few occasions she watched her, but even then she watched Zelda's matches scarcely. To Samus that form was nothing but a crutch; something that showed that Zelda couldn't stand on her own two feet and fight a round out to the last.

As a princess, she didn't know what to say. The blatant fact that she had taken this time to host a tournament, when she should be at home running her kingdom only lowered Samus's opinion of her. Then there was the fact that she had squandered what most likely would be a massive portion of her own kingdom's coffers for this tournament as the prize money. Although she had no issues about where the money came from, it only continued to degrade Samus's opinion of the princess.

Taking a moment to examine her, Samus began to wander if she was a princess of sorts. Her dress to begin with wasn't particularly ordinate or special. If anything, it was a simple white dress with a purple top and golden spaulders. White gloves that reached halfway up her upper arms covered her arms. The only thing that truly stood out in her appearance was the golden tiara she wore. If anything, what she was wearing was a mix between elegance, and combat functionality.

Facially, however, offsets the clothes that she wore. Her face was steeled with the look of royalty. Although she wore no makeup, the few pieces of royal jewellery, and the way her violet-blue eyes stared at her spoke volumes behind whom and what she was: a princess. Although there was the possibility that she was a warrior princess.

Stepping off the platform, Zelda took a moment to examine Samus as well. Standing 6 foot 3 inches tall, Samus was an embodiment of solid metal. No signs of organic life could be seen, all hidden behind the red armour that protected her throughout the battle. A green visor stared blankly at her, hiding the person within behind a veil of cold steel.

"I congratulate you on your victory, Samus Aran," Zelda politely greeted. Samus said nothing, simply waiting for Zelda to hand her the prize money so that she could be on her way. Zelda pondered momentarily on Samus's lack of speech, but thought nothing on it. She had heard she wasn't much of a talker in any case. This was just another case of her not wanting to speak.

"Samus, may I ask that you at least show your face to me, before I present to you your prize," Zelda requested.

"What difference does it make?" Samus answered in return.

Zelda simply smiled lightly towards the taller woman and said, "I wish to meet the warrior behind the suit."

Samus let out an annoyed sigh. It was a minor kink in her plans, but it wasn't something that was going to drastically affect her: except she did not like the idea of being out of her armour unless she absolutely needed to, especially in front of this crowd. Looking straight at Zelda, she realized that she wasn't going to relent until she acquiesced.

As Samus tapped a few controls, Zelda watched in mild interest as her armour began to dematerialize. From Samus's hands and feet the armour slowly fade away revealing more and more of the person within. A blue jumpsuit could be made out at first, before long elongated hands and legs could be made out. More and more of the armour disappeared, as it slowly revealed the athletic form of Samus Aran.

Much to Zelda's surprise, Samus's appearance was nothing like she had imagined. For one thing without her armour, they were the exact same height.

From the appearance of the armour, she had believed that underneath the armoured exterior was a massive brute that could match the strength and power that she seemed to be able to bring forth. However, her assumptions were dashed away as she studied the woman before her. Despite her masculine stance, she could see that there were hints of womanhood hidden beneath that exterior. Her body was perfection, elegance, and athletics incarnate. Feminine curves were in all the right places, and incredibly toned muscles to match her body; Samus was a shining example of womanhood. And the jumpsuit she wore failed to hide her assets, leaving very little to the imagination, further accentuating her femininity. But despite it all, Zelda was glad of what Samus truly looked like was nothing of what she and many others thought her to be.

Her face was just as equally elegant. Long blond hair held up in a ponytail adorned her features. Though quite pale from the lack of being out of her suit often, it was a somewhat healthy shade. However, what took her attention most was the gaze her ice blue eyes held. Though steeled with a cold, uncaring gaze, she could see hidden within was a gate that led to the soul of Samus Aran. The very core of who she was and her nature. And strangely enough, Zelda found herself wanting to somehow unlock the secrets behind those eyes. She blushed when she realized that she had been staring for some time, and took a moment to recompose herself.

Samus let out an internal sigh. Yet again she was one of those people who made assumptions of what she looked like underneath the suit. Although it was no different than any other person who had never seen her true body, it still bothered her to no end. Perhaps it was because of the way she carried herself, or never really disclosed her gender, but somehow, she was always the opposite of what people expected.

"Are you done staring?" Samus quietly asked the princess, a bit irate at the fact that she was starting to be held up a lot longer than she had expected, or planned.

"Forgive me but…you're quite different from what many had said you to be," Zelda commented, the pleasant smile never leaving her lips. Samus did nothing but dispassionately stared back at her, waiting for her prize. "I'm glad."

"Pardon me?" she asked, taking aback somewhat at the statement. She was perplexed. She was unsure as to what Zelda had meant by saying that she was glad that she was different from what people had said her to be. She was also glad that this was private, as it didn't sound like this was being broadcasted.

"People have said you're a freakish brute with monster-like muscles and such," Zelda calmly elaborated, maintaining a calm composure and presence. "However, I am glad you are nothing like they say. It makes me feel at ease to know that there are still beautiful amazons out there."

This resulted in Samus raising her eyebrows in surprise. She had always hated being called an Amazon. Unfortunately, it had always been issued forth by those whom earned her ire, or by women who lived in such pampered lives that they believed their way of life was the only way of life a woman should live. And yet somehow, from Zelda it sounded something soothing, something akin more to a compliment, rather than an insult. Although puzzling, she put the thought aside. It was unnecessary for what was to come for her in the near future. Soon she would be gone, and she could put this matter behind her. She would not see Zelda ever again after today.

"Samus Aran, for your stunning performance and display throughout this tournament, I present to you you're prize," Zelda proclaimed, her voice this time booming across the stadium. Held in her hands, a small electronic pad sitting on top of a belt with the emblem of the Super Smash Brothers League on the buckle was present to Samus.

Samus simply accepted the pad and shouldered the belt, and nodded politely, while trying to ignore the massive cheering from the crowd as they gave Samus a standing ovation.

With the awarding officially to a close, a teleport platform appeared before Samus, which she immediately stepped on shortly followed by Zelda who stepped back onto her own platform.

Ending back up in a lobby, Samus let out a tired sigh and quickly headed towards the exit and her ship.

"Samus, a moment please," Zelda called out, quickly catching up with the bounty hunter.

"Yes, princess?" Samus irately answered, struggling not to just lash out at her, especially with the fact no one was looking. Zelda flinched at the tone Samus used. But despite the aggression, she was not deterred in the very least. The least she could do was to try.

"I wanted to know if you would like to join me for dinner," she proposed.

"No thank you," Samus immediately responded.

"I see," Zelda sighed. "I apologize for taking up your time. I wish you the best of luck on your future endeavours." Nodding her head lightly, Zelda offered Samus one last smile and went on her way.

Samus watched Zelda's retreating back as she pondered lightly on Zelda's behaviour. She was indeed a different kind of princess than she had often seen and heard of. This one was not only one to squander her own funds and seemed a bit underdressed for a princess, but she was most definitely not a spoiled one. If anything, she was one of those rare one-in-a-million princesses that were raised well, or had gone through some hardships, that imposed a certain sense of modesty and control within them. A breath fresh air it was indeed.

Looking down at her prize, Samus raised an eyebrow as to the address that the source of the 100,000 rupees was to come from. She knew that the Hyrulian kingdom had its own galactic account number as to keep track of the varying resources that were exchanged, but if she read this correctly, this was not from the kingdom's coffers. This was from Princess Zelda's personal funds.

"Hmm…an interesting princess indeed," Samus smirked, quietly making her way towards the local bank to cash in her prize. "Interesting indeed…"

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After wading through crowds of fans and reporters wanting her autograph and comments about the match, Samus eventually managed to make her way over to the nearest available teller, and quickly requested that her prize was to be appropriately converted into Galactic Credits. She would later deposit into her own personal account, and pay off her expenses and put the rest of her cash prize to good use.

As she quietly waited for the converted credits to be handed back, Samus glanced over at the TV screen that displayed the remaining matches for the day. She noticed that there were a few additional matches left, but none of them had really caught her eye. None of the competitors names were people whom she believed were much of a challenge for her, nor did they really grab her attention. Although there were a few who were close, she stood on a much different level than them.

"It seems Princess Zelda's up for a match," the teller commented, returning with a new data pad in hand with the converted credits.

Accepting the pad and nodding in thanks, Samus glanced up at the display to see that Zelda was indeed about to start a match. However, she raised an eyebrow in surprise at who she was supposed to fight. Among the three opponents was none other than Captain Falcon. While quite the eccentric man, Captain Falcon was a bit of a wild fighter and would most likely dominate. Zelda's other two opponents were Bowser and Ike. Despite the fact they had just competed, they were more than likely well rested and ready to go for another match.

Curiosity nagged her as she quietly made her way through the quiet halls. A part of her was interested in seeing this curious girl compete in this exhibition match, wanting to see what exactly she could do in such a situation. However, the other part of her had already decided that she would lose. She didn't have any combat capabilities of any sorts. It was likely she would be the first to lose, especially against two combat veterans and a monstrous creature that would crush her in an instant. Then was the added fact that she had a timetable that she wanted to stick to. She had gotten her money, and now it was best that she headed out and resumed her job. That was all to it. It was a plain and simple plan. There was no need to deviate from what she had set her mind to do.

Her walk took her by one of the gates that led to the stadium Zelda was fighting in. To her surprise, from the gates she could hear the crowd cheering for the last name she had expected.

"Zelda! Zelda! Zelda! Zelda! Zelda! Zelda!" the crowd loudly cheered. It was surprisingly deafening for someone she had deemed an ineffective combatant.

"Just what exactly is going on," she mumbled, walking through the door and looking out towards the stadium. To her great surprise, Zelda was doing incredibly well. She was doing a lot better than she had ever expected. Of her three opponents, Bowser and Ike had been just eliminated. Glancing at the scoreboard, she noticed that it was a 3-man Survival Match, and Captain Falcon was in the lead with 2 lives, while Zelda was down to her remaining one.

However, that quickly changed when Zelda suddenly fired off a spell sending Falcon clear off the ring and into the shielding around the stands.

Samus felt her eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Falcon had her. He had been in a position to punch her right out of the ring and ended it, but she had managed to pull a fast one and quickly turned it around for herself. Around her, the crowd continued to cheer loudly for Zelda as they watched her square off with Falcon for the last round.

A few random items appeared before them, but neither took thought of it. Falcon began to circle the girl looking for his moment to strike while Zelda simply maintained a cool steady gaze on him, readying for his attack. Despite the cheering and noise of the crowd, the tension mounted as the seconds passed. Neither warriors were ready to give ground, nor were they going to let their opponents take that ground. Both were determined to be victorious.

Samus watched the match closely. She had never bothered to pay too much attention to Zelda, and now she had a feeling that had she been in a match with her before now, she'd most likely pay for it by losing few lives while fighting her. She prided herself in her ability to be ready for any situation, which included studying those whom she deemed weak. However, this was a new element to the subject known as Zelda. She had something Samus didn't consider might have, and now she was bent on making sure she knew what this particular warrior was capable of.

In a burst of speed, Captain Falcon bellowed his signature attack as he dashed forward. His fist aflame with power, aim straight on Zelda, he rushed in for the attack, prepared to unleash the full fury of his attack. Despite his respect for Zelda as a fierce fighter, there was no way he was prepared to allow her to defeat him in combat. Not because he was a man and she a woman, but because it was a matter of personal pride as one of the strongest Smashers here. He could not lose. Not now.

"FALCON PUNCH!" he bellowed as his strike hurled forward.

"What the hell?!" Samus hissed, as Falcon's attack went straight through Zelda, dissipating the image, leaving behind a very confused and surprised Falcon. "How the hell-"

Words became lost to Samus as from behind Falcon, Zelda materialized and unleashed a fireball, sending him flying flat on his front. Her assault continued as she levitated Falcon momentarily before throwing him high into the air. Calling upon the earth around her and the various objects, she used her powers and levitated them before throwing them up straight towards Falcon as he was barraged by a fury of rocks, branches, guns, swords, and the like. Her ammunition spend, Zelda re-established her grip upon Falcon and brought him straight down into a pillar of earth she summoned as she pulled Falcon down, slamming him straight into the block of earth.

Focusing power into her hand, Zelda unleashed her final attack as a massive ball of energy struck Falcon, exploding on contact as it sent Falcon clear of the ring.

"THE WINNER IS ZELDA!" the PA roared as the crowd chanted her name.

"What the hell just happened?!" Samus shuddered, dumbfounded. Right then and there, she realized that she had made a critical error in judgement. She had given Zelda a very wrong assessment, and in hindsight it would have most likely cost her either a match, or at the very least leave her embarrassed as a competitor for letting her guard down and underestimate the princess. She had not expected that Zelda was a user in magic. The fact she had used her powers to manipulate the very arena and the objects around her, and created that illusion was a small indication of what she could be capable of, which would make her a powerful force to be reckoned with.

"Just what the hell is she?" she wondered aloud, and left the stadium not wanting to be caught in the upcoming crowd.

Despite the urge to simply just leave the city and be done with it, there was something that she just couldn't put to rest. What had started off as her labelling Zelda as being interesting, had quickly evolved into outright curiosity and desire to have her questions answered. Although she had originally cleared her schedule just so that she had time for just the tournament, she was somewhat glad she had no jobs that were waiting to be completed. In essence, she had all the time she wanted to have her questions answered.

But the question was whether or not she wanted to stick around that long and have her questions answered. She could have all the information she wanted about Zelda by looking her profile up in the Smash's databanks. It was free for public use, and all the relevant information about her was there readily. It would be a lot easier just to get the answers from that, rather than her. But somehow, a part of her wanted to get see Zelda again and learn about this fighter in person.

Although learning about one's opponent through their data was just as effective, the same could be said about learning about the opponent in person, if not better. Thinking about it, while she could spend time and master Zelda's profile and history, in that same span of time, she could learn Zelda in person. She could see what she was like, what her personality was like, her mannerisms, even her train of thought. She might even be able to catch a glimpse of her training, see what she was capable of and see what her abilities exactly were, without the heat of combat forcing her to plan on the fly, compared to having a predetermined plan set out.

Unfortunately, she couldn't decide. Both had their ups and downs. Learning about her information was faster and it was streamline, but it was all technical data. She would only be able to learn a portion of what made Zelda tick. If she spent time with her and learned about the fighter slowly, it would stand that she'd learn about Zelda a bit more in-depth as she would see the real her, rather than a compilation of Zelda's bests and worst points. But the downside would be that it was time consuming, and it would take her away from her work.

Her thoughts eventually took her back to her work. Less than two months ago, she had finally destroyed one of her worst enemies to date: the Phazon beast Dark Samus. Another reason she had wanted to participate in this was that she could just get away from all the demands for her work, so that she could relax and let the scars heal and the memories of that particular nightmare eventually go away. She still had occasional nightmares when she had almost become corrupted. The every thought to this day still made her skin crawl.

'Maybe I should just stick around,' she thought to herself. Eventually, she came to the conclusion that she needed more time to recuperate from dealing with Metroid Prime, Dark Samus, and Phazon. Perhaps staying here and learn from the real thing was the best thing she could do for now. Lost in thought, Samus stumbled back as she realized that she bumped into someone.

"Pardon me," the person she had bumped into apologized.

"No problem," she mumbled, taking a look at the person she had bumped into was none other than Zelda herself. Smiling wryly, Samus said, "Funny running into you. I was actually looking for you."

"Oh? May I ask what it is you wish to speak to me about?" Zelda politely asked, curiosity flickering lightly in her eyes, along with something else Samus couldn't exactly figure out.

"Is your offer for dinner still up?"


	2. Chapter 2

**My Dream, My Life**

**Chapter II**

Samus sighed for the umpteenth time today. Waiting in the hotel lobby, Zelda had told her to meet her at 6. Now 5:55, she waited the additional five minutes idly staring into a wall. Fidgeting somewhat in the clothes she now wore, she wished she had something a bit less restrictive instead of the current clothes she wore. But Zelda had explicitly stated that she was to wear something casual, and appropriate for a restaurant. Acquiescing, Samus had opted for a pair of black leather pants, black high-heels, a white tank-top that left her midriff bare, and a black leather jacket.

"This might be more than I bargained for," she muttered to herself. Although she was expecting some complications of sorts, this was something she had not planned nor anticipated for. She had this nagging feeling that she was about to step into something that would lead her down a one-way path, and once she had started, the only recourse would be to see it though. The idea bothered her to the point she wondered if she should just back out and leave her curiosity and questions unanswered.

"Good evening, Miss Aran," a regal voice greeted Samus. Glancing up, Samus raised a surprised eyebrow at Zelda's new attire. White knee length skirt hung snugly on her hips, complimented by a creamy pink blouse, topped with a simple jacket that seemed to just meld with her clothes. All of the royal jewellery was gone only to be replaced by a pair of simple earrings that hung off at the base of her pointed ears. If she didn't already know that Zelda was a princess, she would've believed that she was looking at a normal woman.

"You look different," Samus put it simply, getting up from her seat.

"Thank you," Zelda happily accepted. "Shall we go? I have already made reservations." Samus simply nodded in response and let Zelda lead the way as they left the hotel.

They walked in silence for some time, leaving Samus to ponder on her own thoughts. Zelda was an interesting mystery. She called herself princess, but despite having the air and grace of such, she hardly acted like one. It was as if she was the proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing, as it were; posing as something she was most likely not. And yet everything she did, ranging from the way she walked and talked to how she carried herself, it pointed that she was indeed of royal upbringing.

And yet when she watched her in the ring, it was as if she was another person entirely. Although the signs were minute, she could see that she had been well trained in her particular art of magic. Whoever had trained her had trained her well, especially the combat applications of her own magic. What she lacked in physical capabilities, she made up for with her magical knowledge and training. That much was clear. Samus wondered what would happen if she were to combine proper and decent hand-to-hand combat skills with her already substantial magical prowess. The idea brought shivers to her spine at the very thought of it. It could prove to be an interesting battle.

"Is something wrong?" Zelda asked, pulling Samus from her thoughts.

Samus, however, shook her head. "Just a random thought."

"I see," she simply stated, continuing on forward. "If I may ask, would you mind telling me about yourself?"

"What is there to know?" she answered back, not wanting to answer such a question.

"I just wish to get to know you better," Zelda answered back, her tone unwavering. "That is the purpose of this outing, isn't it? You wish to get to know me, and I wish to get to know you." While she didn't show it on her face, Samus was surprised as she tried to get her head around what the princess had just said. It was as if somehow, she knew that was what Samus had in mind the whole time. She began to wonder if the princess had some form of telepathy.

"If you're wondering how I knew, I came to that conclusion when you had approached me concerning dinner after my match," Zelda lightly answered.

"How did you know what I was thinking?" Samus blurted out, feeling like a deer caught in the headlights.

"I do not," Zelda replied back evenly, looking at Samus directly in the eyes. "However, I have long been able to read body language. You had momentarily paused when I had told you about the purpose of this outing. From there, I only inferred the most likely thought you were having, but it is by far from being completely accurate. There is still a degree of guesswork and probability involved."

Samus couldn't help but smile at Zelda. "You're quite the princess."

"Thank you," said Zelda, smiling back at Samus from the compliment.

Samus let out a sigh and decided to divulge a little about herself. "You already know who I am, Samus Aran. I am a bounty hunter from my part of the galaxy. Been doing it for as far back as I can remember. I was born on a world that was designated K-2L by the government I'm often hired by. My overall life revolved around growing up learning the art of warfare and fighting as a kid, spent a bit of time in the military in my teenage years before finally becoming a bounty hunter. That's the general outline of my life."

"I see," Zelda commented, deciding not to press on too much unless Samus was willing. Taking a quick breath, she decided to fulfill her part of the agreement. "As you already know, I'm Princess Zelda. I am also the ruling body of Hyrule. I grew up in a relatively sheltered lifestyle for quite some time, learning how to be a princess, how to harness and control my powers, learning politics, the ways of the kingdom, among other things. My life became somewhat more interesting when I had met Link."

"What's the story behind that?" Samus asked.

"That is a story for another time," Zelda answered, before continuing on. "After that particular adventure, Link was soon called upon by the League to participate in their competitions. After his first time here, he invited me along to see what the league had to offer. I was originally planning to only be a spectator, but circumstances ended up with me competing in the tournament. Afterwards, I had continued to train more and more actively for these competitions. Unfortunately, due to my constraints as the ruling body of Hyrule, I can only come to these festivities once every 4 seasons." Samus said nothing, opting to simply listen to the girl speak, and hoping that she would eventually be able to obtain more detailed answers she wanted at some point during the evening.

"As you can possibly surmise, I'm in the middle of my annual outing to the league. Unfortunately, it lasts only for two weeks, but I try to make the most of it."

"But why do you come here?" Samus asked.

"Call it…a vacation of sorts," she answered wistfully. "It's a chance for me to be able to get away from life as a princess, and just be Zelda. Unfortunately, many continue to pay the respect due to my title. While it is nice to know there are people out there who recognize my title for who I am, I often come back home dissatisfied. I hardly meet people who treat me as a person, rather than the carrier of a title."

"Is that all?" she asked, a bit surprised but not particularly impressed by her story.

"I know it's not particularly interesting," Zelda admitted, "but it's my reason of being here. To get away from it all, hopefully meet new people, and somewhat see how I stand against champions of other worlds and dimensions."

"Sounds like some glorified story to cover up the fact is you're just trying to find adventure in places a fragile thing like you shouldn't be in," Samus bluntly put it, not caring if Zelda took offence to it or not.

"If that is your opinion," Zelda simply stated. Samus raised an eyebrow. Now she was confused. Her behaviour was nothing like she was expecting.

'Just what are you?' Samus wondered mentally.

The ever steady smile on Zelda's lips never left as she calmly walked down the road, calmly watching vehicles of all sorts calmly fly high above or roll past her along the road next to her. She couldn't help but feel great amusement and accomplishment within her. Not only had she been able to get Samus to have dinner with her, she was doing quite the job confusing her. Although to a normal person Samus looked fine, she knew that Samus was trying to process everything that had just transpired. Minute differences in the way her body moved stood out to ever observant eyes, indicating that her mind was hard at work trying to solve the mystery that was her.

She wasn't purposely trying to confuse her, but she wasn't one to volunteer information. But if she was asked directly, she'd answer it to the best of her ability. Some have said that she was quite sly, but she always said that was how she was.

Then there were comments of how she was able to shrug off insults as if they were nothing. That particular statement was not true. There were times that such insults have hurt her, be it her pride, her ego, or self-esteem, but she would always return such insults with equally vindictive retribution. Other times, she could already guess the intension behind the words, and would react accordingly. In Samus's case, she had a feeling that Samus didn't completely believe her story, but didn't pay too much heed to her words. If anything, they lacked the usual venom involved in such insults. To her, Samus's words were nothing but her opinion of her, even if it was one that she didn't like too much.

"What about you?" Zelda asked after a moment of silent. "Why do you compete in the League?"

"This particular tournament, it was the prize money," she answered, going for the short and simple answers. "Previously, they were just distractions from my day-to-day life. But after a while, it began to bore me that I stopped coming. Not too many challenges that it was worth coming here regularly." Silence hung between them leaving them to their thoughts.

"What do you plan to do with the money?" Zelda asked after a while.

"Pay off any expenses and debts I owe from previous jobs, upgrade my ship, and any additional supplies I may require," she explained. "I have no use for that championship belt."

"I suppose not," Zelda agreed, nodding her head. "But perhaps there will be champions who will attempt to vie for your belt now that you have been deemed Brawler of Brawlers."

"Let them issue their challenges," Samus sighed, not particularly pleased that she had gotten a title she did not want. "I'll destroy them quickly so that I can continue my work."

"Quite blunt aren't you?" Zelda commented.

"And?" Samus countered.

"Just an observation," Zelda stated, as her eyes began to look between the various shops and restaurant for the one she was looking for. "You do not seem to be one who holds back her tongue, nor do you seem to the type to try to 'soften' the blow."

"Pardon me if my social skills are not up to par, princess," Samus snarled not liking the jab at her social skills.

"It is nothing to be ashamed of," Zelda pointedly stated, seemingly unfazed by Samus's statement. "You said so yourself, you are a bounty hunter, and you were trained to fight from a young age. It would only be natural that your social skills are negatively affected. Plus your complexion tells me that you are not out of your suit too often."

Samus didn't know whether to be angry at Zelda's present attitude, or be amazed at her ability maintain her control of her emotions. Twice now she had said things that most people would take offence to, but Zelda simply took them, dismantled them to their true meaning, and discarded them as nothing more than a piece of debris. The more she talked with Zelda, the more questions began to arise, and the greater her desire to want to know what exactly was underneath the calm cool exterior that Zelda was exuding. Although she didn't like that this was happening to her, she couldn't resist its call. Curiosity had taken its hold on her, and she wouldn't be satisfied until all of her questions had been answered.

"You're real a piece of work," Samus sighed, bringing a hand up and rubbing her forehead. Zelda said nothing but stopped. Wondering why Zelda had halted, Samus followed her gaze to see that she had led them to quite an expensive restaurant. It was also one of the more popular ones as well.

"Paulander," she muttered to herself. Samus watched as people all over climbed up the stairs that led to the prestigious restaurant above. All of them were dressed quite nicely to fit the occasion she observed. Glancing down at her attire, Samus was now glad that she had decided to wear something, rather than what she had originally planned to wear. Although she hated to admit it, she would have drawn a lot more unnecessary attention than she already did. She was just glad no one recognized her on the way.

"Shall we?" Zelda offered, indicating towards the building above. Samus nodded, and two quietly made their way up the stairs.

"Welcome ladies, and how may I help you today?" the receptionist happily greeted as Zelda and Samus walked through the entrance.

"Reservation for Zelda of Hyrule," said Zelda.

The receptionist took a moment to look through his book before finding the reservation. "Of course, the table you have requested is ready. Just step on the transport pad and it will take you directly to your table." Tapping a button on the podium, a transport pad similar to the ones used in the Smash stadiums appeared before them.

Samus gave her an inquisitive look, but Zelda simply smiled and stepped onto the pad, and calmly waited for her to follow suit. Deciding not to question or argue with the princess, Samus did the easy thing and simply stepped onto the pad, and waited to see where this would take them. Her question was soon answered as the pad had taken them to one of the upper levels, giving them a window view over the entirety of Smash City.

Samus let a low whistle slip past her lips. The view was quite impressive. One word came to mind as she stepped up to the window: magnificent. The city itself was a glistening utopia. Pristine glass reflected lightly of whatever sunlight remained, while the streets below began to glow as the street lights roused from their slumber to greet the night, bathing the streets in florescent white. The buildings themselves were a harmonious display of functionality and aesthetics. Pleasing to the eyes, but built to last and function well. Beyond, she could see the lights from Smash stadium as the late night matches progressed, as occasional flares of colours flashed across the top. And even further, the Smash mountain range filled the background, bathed in a wash of orange and red, as the sun slowly descended below the horizon. The skies above twinkled as the stars began to dot the sky, transition from the vibrate light of the sun, to the calm soothing light of the stars and the moon.

Somehow, this view left her at peace. A feeling she rarely felt, and enjoyed whenever she could afford to.

"I'm glad this choice sits with you well," Zelda stated from beside Samus.

"It is a calming sight," Samus agreed. Although not one comment, she felt this was something that should be known. It was after all Zelda's idea.

"I haven't felt this peaceful nor seen something like it for a while," Samus sighed.

"A city like this?" Zelda asked, glancing over at her companion for the night.

"No," she said shaking her head. She paused a moment, she see searched for the correct word to answer before it came to her. "It is peaceful. I haven't been at ease like this for a while." And it was true. For once, she didn't feel the burning sensation of being out of her Power Suit, nor the urge to have the Paralyser she had hidden underneath her jacket. It felt strangely comforting, to be able to feel this way, while at the same time alien. She often wondered what it would be like, to be able to hang up her career as a bounty hunter behind, and be able to find a new way of life. But alas, it was but a fleeting dream, one that would be always out of her grasp.

"Maybe one day I can show you my home and the view my castle offers," Zelda suggested. "Although the view pales in comparison of the technological advancements this city offers, I prefer it due to its natural aura and true lights, rather than this artificial world that this city provides." Samus said nothing. Zelda had said that they weren't as advanced as Smash City. Were there such backward worlds out there that even existed anymore, she wondered.

Taking in her surroundings, Samus noticed that the two of them are not alone. Lining the windowed walls, other various tenants quietly dined, talking amongst one another as they also enjoyed their part of the magnificent view. Center of the entire floor, a few couples danced to the quiet music that permeated the scene. Something she realized that she had initially missed when she had first came up to the floor. However, she passed it off as the music was being directed at the center of the room where the dance floor was. Center and against the one wall that was not windowed, a bar was set up serving drinks of various kinds to customers. She idly wondered if they served drinks from her part of the universe.

"Shall we sit?" Zelda again suggested to Samus, indicating to the two chairs that waited for them. Samus continued her silence but nodded and seated herself across Zelda.

Turning her attention back towards the window, Samus continued to observe the scene in front of her. It was quite alluring, if not a beautiful sight. However, the word beautiful just didn't seem to sit well with her. It felt quite awkward to her for some reason. Perhaps it was not the right word to use, or possibly it wasn't the right moment to use it. Either way, the word wasn't something she said often, if at all.

"If I may ask," Zelda began, pulling Samus from her thoughts, "where did you obtain your armour?"

Glancing down at the device that she had hidden on her left wrist, she pondered on whether or not she should tell. It wasn't something she often spoke of, and top of that, it was what many would call a trade secret. But to her, it had a more personal meaning to her. It was in essence a part of her body, something that she didn't like to disclose to just anyone, even if the person who was asking was someone who intrigued her greatly.

"If you do not wish to answer, then it's alright," said Zelda, taking notice of Samus's hesitation. "There's not need to force yourself to tell me."

"It is a somewhat personal matter," said Samus, leaning back against her chair, mentally glad that she didn't have to divulge that particular information. Although the chances of anyone ever taking the information and using it against her were minimal in terms of Zelda, it was the general idea of giving that information that bothered her.

Soon enough, a waiter had arrived and offered the two of them menu's and glasses of water. The two of them soon enough made selections from it and ordered.

Now the two of them waited in silence for their food to arrive, both lost in their own thoughts.

"Tell me about your training," Samus asked, breaking the silence that had settled over the two of them. "I had never seen you use your magic before. Your hand-to-hand combat skills are not quite impressive, unless you use your alternate form, and even then that is more of a crutch than a real battle aspect."

"My training was relatively simple actually," Zelda began, taking a sip of her water before launching into explaining her training. "I will admit that my hand-to-hand training has been lacking. However, what I was trained in I excelled. Archery, horseback riding, magical applications was what I had been trained in mostly. In terms of my magic, I was taught every possible aspect of it since I was very young. Defensive, offensive, healing, support, teleportation, elementals, and a myriad of other means of using my magic.

"However, although I was born with magical aptitude, it took me years to obtain the level of magic I possess now. My training was quite difficult. But nonetheless, it has helped me greatly throughout my life and in particular the Smash battles."

"How so?" Samus asked.

"Lately, I've been training how to use my magical capabilities in a more offensive manner," she explained. "I've have Link help me at times, but I have also called upon my original instructors to assist me in my training as well. Today was the first opportunity I had to test the results of my training. As you most likely saw, the results were quite fruitful."

"So this is a recent skill acquirement," Samus commented.

"It is in a sense," Zelda sighed, taking another sip of water. "I have always been capable, but it was only recently that I had intensified my combat training."

'If this is the result from possibly only a year of training in magic, I wonder how much more effective she would be with a year of hand-to-hand,' Samus mentally wondered. Taking a few gulps of water, her mind continued to process over this particular piece of information about Zelda's combat capabilities. It was something that she took into consideration. Although the likelihood of the two of them fighting was low, it was best to have a proper knowledge of all opponents and what they were capable of, especially if earlier today was any indication. She had to be ready if the unexpected occurred.

"What of you?" Zelda asked back. "What did your training consist of?"

Samus restrained a sigh that threatened to escape from her lips. Yet another personal question that she was unwilling to answer. But why was it that Zelda seemed more than welcoming to the idea of revealing herself, but she was not. It nagged at her. She wanted her questions answered, but the more she asked, the more she was asked back. It was clear that it was a situation of give and take, but this situation was asking for more than she was willing to give. There were a lot of things she did not wish to reveal. Not now, not ever, to absolutely everyone. At least that was what she wanted.

"If you'd like, you can ask the questions you want, and you can choose which questions to answer," Zelda offered Samus. "It is clear I am asking sensitive topics, and I do not wish to impose any discomfort upon you."

"What the hell are you?" Samus snarled, feeling something snap.

"Pardon me?" Zelda asked confused at the sudden shift of attitude.

"What the fucking hell are you?!" she repeated herself. Unfortunately, she ended up raising her voice drawing the attention of the surrounding customers. "You talk like some saint, acting as if there's nothing in the world, or in the universe I should say, that bothers you! You say you want to get away from your world, but you act as if that world isn't even bothering you! Look at yourself! You even shrug off my words as if they didn't mean a single thing! You make me sick!"

Zelda let out a simple sigh and gave Samus a levelled gaze. "Are you quite done, Miss Aran?"

"Oh I'm far from it, princess," she growled, placing heavy stress on her title. "I am quite far from it."

"Miss Aran," Zelda calmly, but firmly stated glaring Samus straight in the eyes. "Sit down. You are making an unnecessary scene."

"Make me," she challenged.

Zelda simply let out a sigh, and looked over towards the waiter who had taken their orders approach them. "Please excuse us a moment." Quickly grabbing Samus's arm, she immediately teleported the two of them to the rooftop. And before Samus could react, the air cracked as Zelda viciously slapped Samus across the cheek.

"You truly lack a lot of social skills," Zelda sadly stated.

"What the hell was that for?!" Samus screamed.

Unfazed by Samus's anger, Zelda simply continued to look at her with that levelled stare. "I do not react like most people, because I am not like most people. As I have said, I can read body language. I am also quite observant of people's mannerisms, even minute ones. Not only that, I am a princess. I am trained to hold my composure and think things clearly before a course of action is taken, to minimise the amount of damage from what I say and do.

"Although you had intended insults, our conversation has been anything but confrontational. Despite your lack of social skills, you attempt to make it up with sense of bravado to hide that fact for one thing. You may have an opinion of me I may not like, but I can do nothing about it.

"And I am not an unfeeling saint. I, however, know when words are being thrown at me in an insulting manner, or being used to voice an opinion in the manner one is most comfortable with. I am not trying to patronize you." Sighing, Zelda turned her back to Samus and approached the railing that overlooked the mountains.

"I may not look like I dislike the world I come from, or the position I hold," Zelda said, a bit louder so that Samus could hear her clearly. "But the truth is I hate it. Although I am the ruling body of Hyrule with the power to demand anything, I am trapped in a duty I cannot escape from. I cannot go where I want without an escort, I cannot train without a trainer with me, and I cannot even go out riding without an escort. I am trapped in such a world, forced to maintain a regal image as the head of Hyrule, where I am waited on hand and foot.

"But here, I can shed that bit of me away. Here, I am just Zelda of Hyrule. I am not a princess, not a member of a royal family. Here, I can just be someone who wishes to be free, if only for a little while. I cannot change the way I act, or who I am. I am I. And it is here where I can truly say that."

"Pretty words," Samus muttered, locating a door that would take her down. But then again, if she wanted she could just activate her suit and jump down.

"And what of you, Samus Aran?" Zelda asked her gaze upon the mountains beyond and the night sky. "Do you not feel you can just be Samus Aran? Not a glorified bounty hunter who's deeds most likely span the cosmos and beyond? Do not feel the freedom that you are simply recognized as Samus Aran, one who is a mighty warrior among other mighty warriors, one who is treated as a person, not a mechanical being, if you wanted? You too could be free from your mask, if you wanted. You could be yourself, or maybe…find yourself, your real self. The you who is not the bounty hunter. The you who could have been, if you did not become a bounty hunter."

'My real self?' Samus thought to herself. 'I already know who I am. I am Samus Aran, bounty.'

"You may not believe my words, but they are in earnest," said Zelda, turning her head to face Samus. "I do not have too many people I can talk to here, nor do I have many friends here. If possible, I would like you to be one of them."

"Friends?" Samus asked, a bit surprised by the word.

Zelda nodded in response. "That was the purpose of this outing. However, I feel that it will no longer be a viable possibility, if your present attitude is any indication." Turning around completely, Zelda bowed lightly towards her. "I apologize if I had caused any inconvenience. I will pay for the entire bill in compensation for the night."

As Zelda walked past her, Samus's mind tried to wrap around the whole situation. Her plan had been to understand and learn about this particular enigma. She wanted to know what made this fighter tick, what was it that made her powerful and how she could possibly defeat her in the future should they come to blows. She wanted to be ready for the possibility. However, what had been a sound plan had turned into a social event between her and the Hylian girl.

She was a bounty hunter, not a creature that craved social interaction. She thought side of her had long disappeared when she had begun her life as a bounty hunter. She had never had issues with being a loner the last two times she had been here. To her, it was all battles and training. This was supposed to have just been a reconnaissance mission, but in the end it had quickly turned into what she had not expected nor planned for.

But in truth, she didn't know how to handle the situation. She didn't know how to be tact; she didn't know how to be courteous. Such manners and social skills died long ago when she had became an active bounty hunter. Ever since she had left the Galactic Federation and struck out on her own, she had become accustomed to being alone, that she had all but forgotten her manners and such, and her social skills had diminished.

"Wait," Samus called out before Zelda teleported down.

"Yes?" Zelda replied, turning around to face Samus who had yet to turn around.

"I…I still don't understand…how can you be so understanding?" she asked, struggling not to yell out again. "How can you act like you know everything so easily? You seem so calm, so controlled, and yet you talk like you know so much, that you can even tell if I'm insulting you or not, or what's going on in my head. I just don't get it!"

"Samus look at me," Zelda requested. Samus let out a frustrated sigh, but complied and turned around looking at her in the eye.

"I am not a Saint," she stated firmly. "I am still, for all intents and purposes, human. I still have my own ambitions, I have my own dreams, desires; I have my own emotions and feelings. And like any human, I am different from every other person in my world. I am different from you, different from my mother and father, different from whoever shall succeed me back home.

"What I do, how I act, how I speak, how I carry myself, how I am able to read other people, is a part of me. I am Zelda of Hyrule. I am a Hylian Princess, who simply has an uncanny ability to read others. I am not a deity, nor am I an arrogant, aristocratic fool who thinks nothing but herself. I wish to be your friend. I wish to extend my hand of friendship. However, I have been taught that to make friends, one must not hold up the mask of deception. So, I act as I. However, it is clear that you aren't comfortable with who I am. But despite that, I want to know the real you. I wish to get to know who you are, what you are, what lies beneath your exterior. I wish to get to know you. But, it seems that you are not interested in such trivialities.

"So once again, I apologise for any confusion I have caused and for the time you have wasted with me." Bowing once again, Zelda straightened up and looked back at Samus again. "Is there anything else you wish to ask of me, before I depart?"

"Why…are you into such things?" Samus asked, carefully eyeing the princess. If there was anything, any hint of deception, she would spot it and end it right then and there. "Why do you really want to have friends?"

"A life without friendship is a lonely life," Zelda sigh. "I do not wish to come here every year without having a few friends to speak with, to share stories, to laugh with, to spend time with, I do not wish to come here every year clinging only to Link as my friend. I know that he has friends here he wishes to see, and I wish to have my own group of friends whom I would enjoy spending time with. I wish to be able to experience that while I'm here. If I can at least enjoy it here, in Smash City, I can walk away each year knowing that I have people I can trust and talk to. Because I know that if they are my friends, I will have the pleasure of seeing them visit me in my castle of Hyrule."

"Having friends is a big thing for you huh?" Samus commented, eyeing the princess.

"It is, especially since nowadays, the castle feels incredibly lonely with only servants and officials concerned with their 'livelihoods' who are more interested in completing their job than socialising with the ruling body," Zelda sighed.

Sighing, Samus stepped up to the Hylian girl. "I can't promise you anything but…perhaps we can still salvage the night."

"How so?" Zelda asked, trying to hide the sudden surprise and excitement.

Sighing, Samus simply looked back towards the mountains for a moment, before returning her attention towards Zelda. "I'll do my best to answer your questions. But you will forgive me if I withhold some information."

"It is acceptable," Zelda smiled. "Shall we?" Samus simply nodded before she took Samus's hand in hers, and teleported back down to their table.

"Perhaps it isn't too late after all," Zelda happily chimed as the waiter brought their food too their table, not long after their return. Silence fell upon them once again, as they helped themselves to the food brought before them.

'Maybe…this won't be so bad after all,' Samus thought to herself.


	3. Chapter 3

**My Dream, My Life**

**Chapter III**

Samus sighed out heavily, slumping into the chair in the main cockpit of her ship. Dinner had been an interesting affair, along with what had happened after that. Staring straight out of the cockpit, Samus wondered what possessed her tonight. What had started off as a simple dinner outing, could have easily been considered a date if it were not for the fact that the two of them were simply out on outing.

"Friends," she muttered to herself. The word felt foreign on her tongue. For her, it was naturally so. She hardly had any contact of other people outside of business related encounters. And even then, any 'social encounters' she had before were related to her missions where she needed to obtain information concerning her job. Other than that, it was just her, her ship, and her suit. She never had anyone else to really talk to outside of that. It never really bothered her at all. Ever since she had first left the Galactic Federation and struck out on her own as a bounty hunter, she was already used to being alone. Although that was possibly because of one simple fact: she had always been alone.

But now, this Zelda seemed to be reaching out to her, as if wanting to offer her something that she couldn't have before. It left her quiet puzzled, more than she was comfortable with.

Letting out a sigh, she began to power up her ship and prepared to check out and go back home when a message came though. Checking the message, Samus let out a huff of extreme annoyance.

"Not even a day and they already want my ass," Samus muttered, especially when 3 more challenges were registered. Much to her displeasure, all the challenges were quite insulting to the point that she felt the extreme urge to cave all their faces in.

"I guess I'll have to teach them a lesson." Answering the challenges, she quickly set the four matches to occur over the next two days.

"Guess that means back to the hotel," she grumbled, deactivating her ship. Grabbing her duffle bag, she dismounted her ship and headed back to the hotel, glad that her accommodations were registered to her for two weeks. At least she didn't have to worry about renting a completely new room.

"I guess that's a perk for being a 'Brawler'," she muttered to herself, cancelling her request to relieve the maintenance crew. She had no idea how much longer she would be remain just yet. It would be better to be safe than sorry.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

The next morning, Samus sighed again quietly as she ate breakfast in one of the many restaurants the hotel had to offer. Lately, she had been doing but sighing. But it was to be expected, especially with the amount of things that have caused her to sigh. It was ridiculous, especially with the four challenges that had just been issued to her out of the blue, and quite late at night. However, the very fact that due to her new status, she was expected to answer these challenges head on. Normally, she would have been more than eager just to turn them down and just leave. However, the insults that had come with the issues only showed their arrogance. That did not sit with her, nor would she let such arrogance go unanswered.

Paying her bill, Samus headed off towards one the nearby parks. When she had first found the park, she found that being surrounded by nature made her feel at ease. Although not enough to just let go and relax, she felt that everything was sharpened, and she could enjoy the beauty of the park while being completely aware of what happened around her. As she entered through the gates, a light tune reached her ears. As it lightly danced through her mind, a certain word came to mind, but she couldn't find the word to describe it. The melodic tune of it felt incredibly alluring, creating this desire to find a comfortable tree and sleep. Looking around, she slowly followed the gentle tune.

She didn't know what to make of it, but it somehow felt incredibly warm. But it wasn't a kind of warmth she was familiar with. It wasn't something akin to heat, but something more so within herself. She didn't know what she was feeling, but it felt relaxing, something she hadn't felt for the longest time in her life. Her path took her through a dense collection of trees, but she remained steadfast and made her way through the winding knots of trees, to find herself in a small clearing, where a small stream cut through the middle. And there sitting across the stream, Zelda quietly sat there as she played that same tune, dressed in a simple white summer dress.

Looking up, Zelda spotted Samus emerge from the forest and greeted her with a simple nod while she continued to play. It was a nice change of pace to have a human audience rather than the occasional Pokemon and local creatures coming to listen.

Samus stood there and watched. There was something serene in her posture. She looked completely relaxed, comfortable even, letting the melody play through leaving behind this odd yet sensation of tranquility. It was as if for each note played, it took a piece of her burden away, leaving her shoulders free of strife, pain, and unwanted memories. It was a comfort she never knew existed. She didn't know what to make of it, but it creating a feeling of something she thought she'd never feel again: security.

All too soon, the music came to an end, but the effects remained. That sensation of freedom remained, leaving her in a tranquil state she forgotten existed. She wondered if all music had this sort of effect on people.

"That was…" Samus began trailing off as she tried to find the words to describe it.

"Breathtaking? Perhaps soothing, maybe even relaxing?" Zelda calmly offered in her same levelled tone. Although she tried not to show it, Samus felt a tinge of annoyance again. She did not like being shown up like that.

"My mother taught me that tune," she continued on, pulling a small cloth out from her pocket and gently wiped the mouthpiece of the instrument in her hand. "She used to play that very tune when I was a child. It always helped me sleep."

"I see," Samus said, unsure of what to say at this point.

"The song has no title, but is widely recognised as 'The Royal Lullaby' by my people," Zelda calmly explained. "Do you remember any lullabies that your mother used to sing or play to you?" Samus shook her head, but more so in hopes of ridding of the image she did not want to remember. "I see…that's too bad…I believe that everyone should at least take one piece of memory they have of their mothers and cherish…at least that is what I believe."

"Sometimes, they leave behind memories you'd rather forget," Samus darkly muttered, clenching her fists tightly.

"Did…something happen to your mother?" Zelda asked.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself," Samus bit back, feeling that ease and tranquility quickly being replaced with a dark tension.

"You…you lost your mother as well," Zelda said, recognising the look in Samus's eyes. "You…witnessed her death."

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW?!" Samus snapped, unable to stop the very images she wanted to suppress. "You didn't see your own mother die by the hands of one of your greatest enemies! You didn't see her trying to protect you telling you to run while your very home was being destroyed! What do you know?!"

"Some things," Zelda calmly answered. "The pain, the anguish, the sadness of her death, I know it. I have experienced it. I too have watched my mother suffer in pain. She died a slow, painful death, as an illness took her away from my life. No matter what, be it magic or medicine, nothing could stop the disease that took her life. I lost someone dear to me that day. I know what it's like."

"No you don't," Samus growled, turning her back to hide the fact tears were ready to come. "You were in a time of peace…my home…my home was attacked! Pirates raided my home! They destroyed everything! They killed my mother! They killed my father! They destroyed everything I ever loved! Do you want to know how old I was?" Zelda said nothing, slowly approaching the distraught warrior.

"I was three! I was a three-year-old girl, who had her whole life ahead of her, and they took it away! So don't you go telling me you understand!"

Zelda slowly walked around so that she was facing Samus, to see the woman struggle to control herself. She couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for her. It was clear that she never got over that particular memory of her life. It saddened her to see someone so strong, suddenly look so frail and frightened, and so emotionally distraught. She gently placed hands on Samus's shoulders, and when she didn't react, she pulled her in lending her shoulder.

"I may not understand the particular horrors you had to face," Zelda quietly said, gently stroking the back of Samus's head, "but I can understand the pain of losing your loved ones. I know it all too well. We are alone in this world. We have no family that we can turn to. No friends to help us hold our heads high. I know what it's like to live that sort of life. I lived it for a short time.

"But…that is where our lives diverge…I had people who truly cared about me and sought to help me become a better person. They made me their family, and I to them. But you…you were taken into a family that sought to make you a better warrior. They taught you how to fight. They only assisted your mental recovery enough so that you could control and suppress it. They never helped you deal with it."

"How…how do you seem to know everything," Samus shuddered. Despite wanting to get out, her body just wouldn't respond. Her body felt utterly relaxed, but her mind was anything but relaxed.

"Your eyes tell me everything," Zelda answered, letting Samus go so that they were eye-to-eye. "You told me yesterday you grew up learning how to fight. Now, you just told me that you had lost your family and home when you were three. It is easy to say that those who took you in raised you to fight. Though they treated you as their own, they only did so much, but not enough to help you. It is not hard when there is enough information for the pieces to fall into place."

"What are you doing to me?" Samus asked, suddenly feeling quite tired, despite having never shed a single tear.

"Offering something you've never been offered before," Zelda answered, guiding Samus over to the tree she had just sat under minutes prior. "I'm offering you my friendship. I wish to be your friend. And…I see something we both share together. And I want to help you, if you'll let me…"

"Damn it," she cursed quietly, feeling the strain of the last few minutes on her body. "I feel tired…but I have a match soon."

"Sleep," Zelda softly commanded, pulling Samus over so that her head rested on her lap. "I will wake you when it is time for your match. You have time to sleep." Silencing whatever protest Samus had, Zelda picked up the instrument around her neck and prepared to play it.

"What is that?" Samus asked, eyeing the blue instrument.

"It is an ocarina," Zelda answered. "Try to relax and let the music take away everything." Soon, the slow gentle notes began to pour from the ocarina, filling the very air with peace and tranquility. Slowly, Samus felt her eyes begin to fall as the music lulled her to a deep sleep, gently lifting her to a level of peace she never knew off. As the comforting darkness of sleep guided her to slumber, she felt something she had long forgotten: she was at peace.

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Zelda sighed as she watched Samus slumber. It had been a while since she had finally gotten her to sleep, but the end result was worth it. She was now resting peacefully in her lap, with a neutral expression, compared to that on guard expression she always wore.

"You've suffered so much," Zelda sighed, watching Samus sleep. "But…I know of your pain. I understand it. I hope you'll one day be willing to come to me. But for now…I would be happy if I could call you a friend…" Glancing over at the small watch she had bought some time ago, she realized that it was nearly time for Samus's match.

"Samus," she called out, gently shaking the sleeping warrior. "It's time to rise. Your match shall start in twenty minutes." She watched in amusement as Samus rose from her slumber, and sat up straight, rubbing the sand from her eyes.

"I…I haven't slept like that in my life," she sighed, stretching her muscles.

"When you live a life of battle, such luxuries are not readily available," Zelda said, rising and dusting off the grass from her dress. "Are you ready to go?" Samus nodded. She smiled in return and reached out, holding Samus's arm and teleported the two of them to stadium entrance.

"I wish you good luck," said Zelda, nodding towards Samus before heading up to the stands.

Samus let out a long breath and made her way to where she would wait until such time where she would face off against her would be challenger. The very idea that this person was attempting to challenge her was beyond her comprehension. But nonetheless, she would beat this person down until he came to his senses and realized just who exactly he was dealing with. Activating her armour, she began to plan her attack strategy. She would contemplate what had happened before at a later and appropriate time.

Finding Link and Fox sitting together, Zelda decided to join the two of them. Her thoughts went back to Samus as she made her way through the crowds and up the stairs. Despite the cold exterior Samus had, she could see that deep within was still a wounded three-year-old who was waiting for someone to heal her. There were still many traumas she had, hidden underneath years of repressed pain and sadness. She knew that there was much more of her soul that she just couldn't see. And the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to be privy to what was hidden behind that veil of darkness.

'I wonder what has me so attracted,' she wondered. 'There is something special about her though…I can feel it.'

"Princess Zelda," Link greeted, nodding politely towards her.

"Morning," Fox greeted with a simple wave towards the princess.

"Link, Fox," Zelda politely greeted in return, joining them. "Less than a day and I see that someone wishes to claim the Brawler of Brawlers title."

"Yeah well DK's not too happy about the fact Samus took the title, so he's itching to take it from her," Fox sighed, shaking his head a little. "The big guy's got potential…when he's actually trained for it. Samus is just going to mop the floor with it."

Immediately a fanfare began to play across the stadium bringing it an uproar as the announcer spoke.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT IS MY PLEASURE TO ANNOUNCE TO YOU THE BEGINNING THE FIRST OF FOUR TITLE CHALLENGE MATCHES! THE LAST ONE REMAINING SHALL BE CALLED THE BRAWLER OF BRAWLERS!

"THE RULES ARE SIMPLE! DEFEAT THE PRESENT BRAWLER OF BRAWLERS, AND FIGHT THE REMAINING CHALLENGERS TO HOLD YOUR TITLE! AND NOW THE CHALLENGER!"

The fanfare faded out as a rhythmic jungle theme began to blare through the speakers and a teleport platform appeared.

"HE'S BIG! HE'S MEAN! HE'S THE HERO OF KONG CONTRY! PLEASE WELCOME, DONKEY KONG!!"

Bursting forth from the platform, Donkey Kong let out a loud whoop as he yelled "BANANAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA SLAMMAAAAAAAAAA!!" A confident smirk was pasted over his entire face as he lapped around the field, waving to everyone as they cheered loudly for the mighty monkey as he stood ready to face off against the Brawler of Brawlers.

The music changed as a more majestic fanfare played throughout, as another teleport platform appeared.

"AND NOW, THE DEFENDER! SHE'S STUNNING! SHE'S POWERFUL! SHE'S THE GALACTIC SOURGE OF THE SPACE PIRATES! PRESENTING THE BRAWLER OF BRAWLERS, SAAAAAAAAAAAAMUS AAAAAAAAAAAAARAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!"

Calmly stepping off of her platform, Samus dispassionately looked up at the crowds above, listening to them howl and cheer for her waiting with bated breath for the match to begin. She cared little for the crowds. If they found entertainment in her battles, then so be it. Her main concern was taking care of this particular oaf who believed that he would "Banana Slamma" her straight into the ground. Not exactly a wise choice of words on his part. He would pay dearly; that much was certain.

From above, Zelda watched as Samus stared down her foe. Despite her face hidden behind that green visor, she could tell that she was confident in her victory. Her plan of action had been set. Her mind was focused. All that was required was for the buzzer to give them the go ahead to fight. Across Samus, Donkey Kong had a wide grin on his face. Flexing his burly muscles, he prepared to give Samus a beating of a lifetime. He would his strength and beat her down into mulch, armour or not.

She couldn't help but laugh in amusement. He was about to receive a very rude wake-up call from Samus. Despite his advantage of strength that was all he had. He had very little else in the ways of combative tactical skills or even speed to defend him. All he had was his strength, and possibly greater stamina, but that was all. One mistake and Samus would capitalize it and end him.

"He will soon learn the folly of his challenge," Zelda commented, earning agreeing nods from Fox and Link. Although they had the utmost respect towards Donkey Kong, running headlong into Samus was not something anyone could afford to do without a plan. Unfortunately, he had no plan.

"3!"

Samus took a ready stance as the counter began.

"2!"

"This is gonna be sweet," Donkey Kong muttered to himself, lowering himself for a big sprint.

"1!"

"He just screwed himself," Fox sighed.

"GO!"

Immediately Donkey Kong bolted straight forward in an impressive show of speed. Everyone watched as within seconds, Donkey Kong was within striking distance of air.

"What the?" he said, looking around wondering where Samus had gone too. His train of thought was immediately derailed when an explosion suddenly threw him hard onto his back in a flash of blue. Quickly gathering his wits, he quickly got back onto his feet and turned around to see Samus stand straight back up from her Morph Ball form crossing her arms and shifting her weight on one knee. He growled angrily at the mockery of her stance, and charged straight in with a furious barrage of punches from his massive burly arms.

Samus in great amusement and with graceful speed, and agility, easily ducked and dodged his attacks. Although he had power, he had no control of his power. That would be his downfall. Tiring of the plan she had originally wanted to pull of, she decided to teach him another way. Grabbing a massive arm, she easily threw him over his shoulder slamming him hard onto the ground.

He bounded up onto his feet fairly quickly, only to be kicked in the back before seeing something leap over his head. By the time he recovered, the barrel of Samus's cannon immediately appeared before him as it opened up revealing a missile which she promptly launched at point blank straight into his face. The impact and resulting explosion threw him a fair distance and skidded along before coming to a complete stop.

Quickly advancing on the monkey as he got up to his feet, Samus quickly began a furious assault as she punched him particularly hard in the stomach. Samus smirked as he keeled over in pain. Following up, she immediately swept him off his feet, knocking him onto his front, still in pain from the particularly violent punch.

Picking up the fallen monkey, Samus with all her strength threw Donkey Kong as high up as she could and immediately armed a Super Missile. Her target set and ready to fire, she discharged the missile watching it contact and detonate, sending the monkey flying as he screamed, falling clear over the edge, eliminating the first of what would be her unfortunate victims.

"AND THE WINNER IS, SAMUS!" the announcer declared, as the crowd broke into a mighty uproar.

"He's going to be angry about that," Fox chuckled, as he applauded along with the rest of the crowd.

"He received what he had asked for," Zelda simply said, rising from her seat and starting to make her way down to the exit.

"Princess, where are you going?!" Link called out after her.

"To change and then train," she simply answered before continuing her way out.

With that particular affair over, Samus quickly left the waiting room and went to find the nearest juice bar she could find. She needed a drink. Although she didn't exactly stick to her original plan of taunting him and slowly humiliate him, the end result was still what she wanted. Not only had she humiliated him with how fast and efficient she took him out, he had not been able to land a single hit on her. The stage had been set, and the bar was now clearly dictated. If they wanted her belt, they would need to beat that. And for some odd reason, she felt a small sense of satisfaction and pride for defeating Donkey Kong in such a manner. Perhaps it was that "competitive spirit" everyone always spoke about.

She had never understood the concept of competition. Her main concern was accepting the job offers, complete them, report in, and be done with it. In terms of this, all she was concerned was defeating her opponents and be the last one standing. It didn't matter to her if she had fame or that she was number one. She had completed the objective: be the last one standing. But now that she held a title and people wanted it, she began to get a feel of what they just might be talking about.

Perhaps the idea of competition was that everyone wanted one thing, but only the best of the best could obtain the prize. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she had already begun to feel her competitive spirit when she had first entered the tournament. Although it was only minute at the time, she had already begun to feel the rush of competition. It felt incredible, exhilarating even. A wide smirk formed on her face. She could probably get used to the idea of competition.

With that in mind and having found a juice bar, she set out her next course of action: borrow one of the training rooms and prepare for the evening match.

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With a couple bottles of waters, a bottle of fruit cocktail, and a duffle bag stuffed with a change of clothes and some shampoo and soap, Samus stepped into one of the training simulators, only to find someone was already using it to her surprise. She turned to leave when a familiar voice grabbed her attention.

Looking back, Samus saw Zelda training heavily as she fought off a constant stream of Alloys as they charged her from all directions. Glancing at the settings, Samus noted that it was set to survival mode with the settings on hard.

Ducking underneath one Alloy's punch, Zelda swept another one off its feet before picking it up with both hands and throwing it at the other two. Backing off, she charged a spell forming it into a fireball before quickly throwing it straight towards the Alloy's, immediately destroying them. Three more immediately took their place and charged straight in for the attack.

Zelda quickly reacted throwing up a shield around herself, before expelling it explosively as it knocked all three back. Taking the moment, she teleported straight towards a bomb she saw, and threw it straight for them, and watched as it rapidly expanded, engulfing all three before they were violently thrown away in a dazzling array of red, white, and yellow lights. The buzzer went off, indicating the end of the session, as the arena faded away, leaving behind the grid-patterned room.

Falling onto her knees, Zelda panted as she caught her breath after that particular exercise. She honestly had not expected to have survived the entire three minutes of combat. She was a mage fighter. She could handle one-on-one matches with great ease, as most people didn't know how to deal with her and her magical abilities. But if she was being ganged up on, it would become that much harder for her to concentrate and form the spells she needed to combat them effectively.

"Need some water?" someone offered. Looking up, Samus approached holding a bottle of water out towards her, which she gratefully accepted.

Feeling the cool drink quenched her thirst and cool, Zelda took a moment to relish in the feeling it gave before turning her attention back towards Samus. "How long have you been watching?"

"About the last 30 to 40 seconds of it," she answered, heading towards the control panel and setting her things down next to Zelda's bag. "An impressive display of your magic but I think you know the weakness of that."

"It is much more difficult when fighting beyond one-on-one, due to the hectic nature of battle," Zelda calmly explained. "While effective in one-on-one due to my opponent's lack of understanding my magic, it is much more difficult to use due to the division in my concentration when I fight. I am well aware of my weakness, and my lack in hand-to-hand."

"Then I'm guessing that you train 3-on-1 to prepare for the possibility everyone will turn on you," Samus surmised.

"That is correct," Zelda smiled, getting up and made her way to operate the control system.

"I'm curious…how primitive is your world, in terms of technology," Samus asked, curious as to why Zelda had an interesting mixture of clothing, as at present her hair was tied back into a low ponytail and was wearing a pair of sweats, runners, and a simple white t-shirt.

"It is still back in what you would call, The Medieval Ages," she answered. "However, I have spent enough time to understand how to live in this world. Although there is much that is still new to me, I have a much better understanding of this world then when I had first set foot here."

"I see," said Samus, watching Zelda key in different settings for the Alloys to use. "Mind if I join you?"

"I'd rather you not," Zelda sighed, looking over towards Samus apologetically. "But…would you like to have dinner again?"

"I suppose," Samus sighed, picking up her bag.

"I'll meet you at the park gates," Zelda said. "And…I apologize for turning you down but…this is something I need to do alone."

"So you'll rely on just your magic?" Samus asked, giving her a neutral look.

"It is what I am best at," Zelda sigh. "It is what I do best. I'll just stick to basic hand-to-hand, and leave it at that. Anything else would be too much for me."

"I respect that," Samus said, smiling at the Hylian princess. "I honestly do. Well…I'll see you around tonight."

"Of course," Zelda brightly replied, glad that no feelings were hurt. "And good luck."

"It's more like that idiot Bowser's going to need it," Samus chuckled. "I'm going to make him eat his own words."


	4. Chapter 4

**My Dream, My Life**

**Chapter IV**

Zelda expressed her content as she let the showerhead douse her in refreshing warm water, washing away the sweat and grime of her training. Despite having learned how to use it long ago, she still found this particular piece of technology quite a marvelling advancement. Despite wanting this particular device installed in her personal bathroom, she doubted it was something she could have installed into her castle, especially with the massive renovation that would have to be made. But it was a nice dream nonetheless.

"A nice dream it is," she mumbled to herself, squirting some shampoo into her hand. Letting out a wistful sigh, she began to wash her hair as the cascading water continued to bead down along her body.

"I wonder what her thoughts of that dream would be," she wondered in amusement. Glancing at the digital clock above, Zelda realized she didn't have time to waste, and hurried along with her shower.

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Samus let out a heavy sigh as she watched Bowser laughed boisterously in preparations for the match. His grin was so wide she could see every single tooth that lined his mouth. Quite the target if she really wanted to deck his lights out and show him what it meant to piss her off and then find her in the ring.

"I swear, these people are idiots," Fox sighed from the stands above, leaning back against his seat. "There's no way they can beat her in the state they are now."

"Then why are you watching?" Link asked who had come along at Fox's insistence.

"Training," he answered earning a questioning look from his companion. "It is simple: the first thing when you want to face someone specifically is to observe them, and look out for how they fight and understand why they do things. Step two is to train to fight against them. The underhand way would be to observe, train, and then issue a challenge with the match a few days following the day it is accepted. Therefore, they would have no way to prepare to fight because the challenged has no Intel, while the challenger has all the information needed to beat 'em. However, I'm not that low and will set a date at least a couple months in advance so that we can both prepare."

"I see," Link commented, deciding to just sit back and watch.

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"GO!!"

Bowser roared angrily and charged straight forward towards the waiting warrior. He would be victorious. Where Donkey Kong had failed, he would rise and take away her bled and her championship title. Leaping high, he threw all of his weight forward with the intent of flattening her with his colossal mass.

"Fool," Samus sighed, ducking underneath Bowser's body as she redirected the attack so that he fell flat on his back as he landed. Clearing some distance, Samus immediately turned around and started peppering Bowser with weapons fire, forcing Bowser to hide within his shell to protect himself from the vicious onslaught of Samus's attack. She didn't let up as she quickly switched over to missiles and start striking his massive shell, as little by little he was pushed towards the edge of the ring.

Bowser growled in extreme annoyance as he felt himself draw closer and closer to the edge. He would not be defeated. Not in this manner. He would make sure that he would obtain his crushing victory that he so rightly deserved from the very beginning of this match. He would not be denied. Spinning his shell, he deflected the missiles thrown at him and quickly got back up onto his feet and charged Samus and began to throw a series of vicious punches and swipes towards Samus.

Unfortunately, unlike Donkey Kong who had the reach, Bowser's attack consistently came up short as Samus simply took steps back to avoid his attacks. While his strength was considerable, without the speed he lacked and stubby arms he had, there was no way he would be able to land a shot on her so long as she kept an appropriate distance from him. However, the downside was that she would have a considerably harder time taking down Bowser, due to his massive weight and size, making him a difficult target to throw or even push around with some real power behind her attacks, such as a charged shot, or a Super Missile.

Then an idea hit her. Hitting a button on her arm cannon, she felt the system shift as it immediately reconfigured itself to the Plasma Beam, a gift from Ghor. Charging the weapon, she continued to dodge Bowser's attacks while keeping in mind of where the boundaries were.

"STAND STILL!" Bowser roared and lunged forward to grab Samus.

Sidestepping the attack and her beam charged, she took a few steps back and fired the bolt straight into Bowser's exposed midsection as the volatile material exploded all over the Koopa, bathing him in the flames of searing hot plasma. Samus watched dispassionately as he writhed in pain from the power of her attack, watching it burn him without mercy, even as he rolled along the ground to put out the flames. Immediately switching over to her Ice Beam, she fired straight on at Bowser, freezing him in a block of sub-zero ice.

Switching over to a Super Missile, she zeroed in on her target and without a second thought launched the weapon, and watched as it exploded sending the block flying towards the edge. A second volley was launched, sending it flying right into the gap the previous missile had made and exploded, most definitely injuring Bowser this time as it sent him toppling over the edge, her victory in hand.

"And it's over," Fox sighed, getting up and headed out, closely followed by Link.

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Samus chuckled in extreme amusement as she walked down the quiet halls. Two down and two more to go. So far, her so-called challengers had not lived up to what they would claim to do to her. They claimed that they would be able to destroy her and show her up, but so far they were proving themselves wrong. They were nowhere near her league. The Chozo had seen to it that her training made her vastly superior to anything the universe could throw at her.

Despite the fact she knew she would easily destroy her remaining two foes, she was not looking forward to it in particular. If it weren't for her belt title, she would have turned them down like a bad job offer. It was an unfortunate waste of her time, where she could be using it to find more bounties; at least until the Galactic Federation asked for her help again.

Exiting the building, she tapped a hidden button on her chest plate disengaging the armour. Feeling it dematerializing, she felt it enter its dormant state leaving behind her in the same clothes she wore last night. Having known that she was going out for dinner again, she had decided to shower and change in her room, and simply wore this underneath her suit, knowing that it would keep it clean for the duration of what she was sure to be a very short battle.

Finding Zelda at the park gates as she had stated, Samus went over to greet her. As she approached though, the familiar sounds of Zelda's ocarina reached her ears. But instead of the soft comforting tone of what she had played earlier, this one had a lower, almost meditative feel to the song. She wasn't sure, but it felt like something one would hear in a church or a temple.

Sensing someone's approach, Zelda looked up to see Samus coming to a stop in front of her, looking somewhat entranced by the slow melodies of the tune that she played. Humouring her, Zelda continued on and led Samus over to a nearby bench where they quietly sat down as Zelda played her ocarina while Samus simply sat there watching her fingers elegantly dance over the holes that governed the tune of the song as it was played.

Samus let herself lean back against the chair as Zelda continued to play. Despite the different songs, it was still incredibly soothing. It felt comforting there were things out there that could make her feel this way. It was a nice feeling; being able to relax, not worry about her surroundings. It may be a new concept and sensation to her, but it was something that she could relearn to enjoy and be able to appreciate whenever she had opportunities like these. Or better yet, it was possible to at the very least have a recording of a few of Zelda's songs. It wouldn't be real, but it would capture some of the essence of the piece; or so she hoped.

Bringing the song to an end, Zelda let the ocarina dangle from her neck and turned her attention to the woman next to her. "Did you enjoy that?"

"It was…relaxing," Samus answered. "Something I haven't been able to do for years."

"I'm glad I could help in some way," said Zelda, leaning back against the bench and looked up at the sky. "The right kind of music is always soothing. Music with words, however, sometimes they bring the worst of emotions, while at other times it can brighten one's day."

"Music with words?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Their meanings behind the lyrics, and the person who sings them," Zelda elaborated. "Sometimes it is just a few words, and they bring forth memories, whether they are joyous or saddening. Sometimes, even wordless music can leave a profound effect, especially when the musician puts the emotion they want to convey into the song.

"Music has its impressions. While at times it can remind us of pain, music in itself is a beautiful and joyous thing. I could not imagine a life without music. It is a part of any culture. It is what not only defines them, but defines the people who wrote them. It is a way of expressing ourselves."

"Has anyone ever told you that you speak well beyond your years," Samus asked.

"Many times," Zelda replied neutrally. "It is somewhat expected, however, for one such as I."

"How so?"

"This," she replied. Holding up the back of her left hand, three golden triangles began to glow formed up with their points touching one another, forming a larger triangle, with the lower left of the three glowing the brightest. This lasted for a few moments before Zelda pulled back the power and let it dim into nothingness.

"That is my gift, the Triforce of Wisdom," she explained. "It acts as an amplifier to my magical capabilities. It also acts as a means of assisting me in various forms of absorbing information, whether it is research, training, or otherwise. It is also why I am able to use all this technology with greater ease than the average royalty of my world. Because of the 'additional processing power' it offers me, as Fox puts it, I can understand information given to me in a smaller span of time."

"I'm guessing this has affected you in many ways," said Samus, suddenly noting subtle changes in Zelda's face. "Dare I say that you do not like this particular topic?"

"Not particularly, no" she sighed, subconsciously rubbing the back of her left hand.

"Then let's drop it," Samus suggested, bounding up from her chair. "It's clear you don't want to talk about it, so I won't press on."

"Thank you," Zelda sighed, getting up as well. "Shall we?"

"Lead the way," Samus indicated. Zelda simply giggled and headed out of the park with Samus walking in stride next to her.

"It's strange, I never thought I would be doing this," Samus commented.

"What's that?" Zelda asked, curious as to what Samus would be talking about.

"Going out like this," she answered. "Or rather…spending time with someone that wasn't relevant with my work. But to think…in less than two days, I'm actually willing to spend time with someone…"

"Some times, it just takes a little coaxing from an outside party to bring one out from the shell," Zelda sagely stated. "But it is understandable. You often go months without much contact with people. You become accustomed to the solitude that it is often awkward for you when you are put into social situations, especially when you are not familiar with such settings."

"I suppose," Samus agreed, letting out a sigh. "These interactions are so far and few, it's hard not to feel awkward in these cases."

"But…I do like this you a lot more," Zelda commented.

"Pardon me?!" Samus asked, a bit surprised by the comment.

"I like this side of you more," Zelda repeated, elaborating on the point. "You are much more…talkative, for lack of a better term. And your guard is down, making you more approachable."

"I suppose," Samus reluctantly agreed. However, it was quite true. Despite having met the princess just less than two days ago, she felt more relaxed around her than anybody else in a long time. She wasn't sure why, but the more she spent time around the princess the more this dormant side of her began to rise. It felt somewhat alien to her that she was more than willing to be this talkative to Zelda, but at the same time, the side of her that longed for social contact was stronger, urging her to spend more and more time around Zelda, it's desire and need to be around people overriding her usual loner persona that often used. Perhaps spending so much time in solitude had affected her a lot more than she had ever expected.

"How long do you plan to stay here?" Zelda asked as they continued to walk along.

"I had originally planned to leave last night before the challenges were issued, but now I don't know," Samus readily admitted, much to her surprise. 'Why am I being so opened?' she asked herself. 'What is she doing to me?'

"You don't know, or you do not want to?" Zelda asked in her familiar mysterious self.

"I honestly don't know," Samus sighed, somewhat getting used to this particular aspect of Zelda. "On one hand I go back where I resume my work as a bounty hunter and make money, or I spend some time here just stay here and let these idiots continue to ask for a pummelling from me. Both have their pros and cons, but both are equal in what they offer. I am not sure what to choose."

"Are you sure you've weighed the scale correctly?" Zelda inquired, grating Samus somewhat.

"The hell's that suppose to mean?" she asked, a bit irritated and somewhat disturbed.

"Have you not considered that it is only here, you will possibly find any social interaction?" Zelda offered calmly, despite having been all but yelled at in her face just now. "There, even if you seek interaction, isn't it more than likely you will either be feared as the great bounty hunter Samus Aran, or simply a person looking for sexual activity. Whereas here, although some will recognize you as Samus Aran the Brawler of Brawlers, there are those who respect you simply as a fighter and will treat you on the same level. Treat you equally, compared to where you come from where many would view you as a powerful monster, or a 'good lay' as they put it."

"Just how the hell do you seem to get into my head like that?" Samus sighed, feeling a bit frustrated by this particular aspect of Zelda. Although she didn't mean to annoy her, but the blatant fact that she seemed to talk like she was able to read her mind was somewhat scarring her.

"Samus, I am not in your head," Zelda sighed, stopping and turned to face the glistening ocean. Despite the fact that the sun was behind her, it was a lovely sight nonetheless.

"However, your thoughts outside of battle can be somewhat narrow," said Zelda, quickly continuing on before Samus could retort. "And before you direct your anger at me, do not place this blame on me, yourself, or anyone. Circumstances in your life hindered your growth on a social level. That cannot be helped. However, time permitting and if you would like…I could help you, socially."

"Why are you always trying to help me?" Samus asked, giving her a levelled look.

"It is as I have said before," the Hylian princess answered, giving her another bright smile. "I wish to be friends with you."

"Friends," she muttered. It was that word again. It was something she still couldn't comprehend. Why in the world would the princess want to be friends with riff raff her? It didn't make much sense to her. Living a life of solitude for so long had left her completely unsure of what to do in this sort of situation. Social interactions had never been high on her list of things she needed fixed, but now she was wishing she spend more time in the various cities she visited during her off time, rather than spend her time in solitude, and bitter loneliness.

"Why me?" she asked. "Why me, out of all people here?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure," Zelda answered, looking at her straight in the eyes. "But somehow, I feel this need to be your friend. I just…have this feeling that a friendship will have a profound affect on both of our lives, that from this friendship, it will lead us to a life of happiness at the end of the long road we walk.

"But more than that, I'd like to have a female friend. In my small list of friends, all of them are males. There's no one whom I could share worries whom I would only share in the company of females. I would like someone whom I could talk to, share personal secrets with that person, and the like. I was hoping that I could have the privilege to call you a friend, if you are allowing."

"I'm…I'm not sure of how to answer that," Samus said, turning her attention towards the ocean. "I haven't had a friend in so long…" Zelda gave her a pointed look, hoping to get an answer.

"I once had a pet named Ponchi when I was little," she answered, sadness entwined in her voice. "He died shortly before I left the people who took me in…he stood by me for over 12 years before he died of age…he was the only thing I had left of my home…the only remnant of that ruin…"

"Samus…"

"But…when I think about it…I think…I think he would've liked to have met you," Samus admitted, wiping a tear that leaked from her eye. "I cannot promise you anything but…I will try. That's all I can say."

Zelda smiled happily taking Samus's hand in hers. "That's all I ask for."

Although she should have expected it, Samus couldn't help but marvel at the differences in their hands. Hers were calloused, battle scarred, hardened from the troubling times of her life, from battle, from wearing her power suit. Zelda's on the hand, despite the strength hidden with, were smooth, slender, and delicate; quite elegant when she thought about it. Their hands were so contrasting in texture. And yet when she looked down at them, they were both incredibly small, almost the same size. And to her surprise, it felt like she had just put on a glove, made just for her. It was a strong feeling she just couldn't put her thumb on. A real oddity.

"Shall we?" said Zelda, before starting to pull Samus along. Samus simply nodded and allowed herself to be dragged along by Zelda as she led her to wherever she had planned to have dinner. Watching her continue to wear that bright smile on her face, Samus wondered if she too could one day be able to wear that smile freely, to not think about the pains of her past, worrying about her continuing survival, to be able to just pass by the days with her head held high and to walk the bright road of her future instead of wallowing in the dark depths of her past.

Their trip eventually led them to an Italian restaurant Zelda seemed to be fond of, which had been brought in courtesy of Mario and Luigi. And thankfully, much to Samus's extreme relief, only a couple of the employees present had that ridiculous accent the two had. And it soon became evident that Zelda had some influence on the staff, as they quickly led her to one of the more private stalls that gave them a good view of the ocean.

"How often do you come here?" Samus asked incredulously.

"Often enough," Zelda simply stated, taking a sip of the glass of water. She said nothing else, but gave her a coy smile, which Samus returned with an amused smirk.

"Tomorrow is going to be a tedious day," Samus tiredly remarked, clearly not amused by the fact she was going to face off against two more opponents. "I just wish those idiots had put more thought into challenging me. I had expected to see the other two back out, however, it seems that making an example out of Donkey Kong and Bowser has failed to do its job."

"It cannot be helped," Zelda sighed, patting Samus's hand. "However, I am sure you will teach them a lesson they will not forgot."

"I'd rather they have learned it from watching me smoke Bowser and that oaf," Samus muttered, her right hand twitching occasionally as the thought continued through her mind. "You have no idea how much I want to just go right up to them this moment and knock some sense into them."

"An ill move on your part it would be," Zelda pointedly stated as she put down her menu, "Unless of course you are willing to deal with Smash authorities."

"The last thing on my mind," Samus grumbled. "Dealing with authority is not something I want to deal with."

"May I take your order?" a waiter asked having approached their table.

"A small Full House with the finest beer you have," Samus ordered, handing back her menu.

"And you, Lady Zelda, your usual?" the waiter asked, turning his attention towards Zelda.

Zelda put on a bit of a thoughtful expression for a moment before coming to a decision. "Samus, would you mind if we shared a pizza?"

"I have no problems," Samus shrugged, turning to face the window.

"Then please cancel her order for a small, and make that a large pizza, along with my usual wine please," Zelda ordered, receiving a polite bow from the waiter before he took off. Turning her attention towards Samus, she noted that she had quite a far-off look, as if she was contemplating or remembering something. Deciding to let Samus have her time, Zelda leaned back into her seat, and enjoyed the view.

Her thoughts eventually led her back to what she had said about Samus. Prior to the tournament, she had been having dreams, premonitions of a warrior who would stand recognised as a champion of Hyrule, as someone who would stand next to Link and be seen as a mighty warrior. She had never seen this person's face, only that it was that of a woman whose combat prowess stood beyond all others and that through their meeting, she and this warrior would act as each other's means of finding happiness.

That particular aspect of her visions continued to intrigue and puzzle her mind up until the tournament. It was when she had seen Samus's face that things began to slowly piece together, or so she hoped. The feelings she had when her eyes had first laid upon Samus's alluring visage were very similar to what she had felt during her visions. There was an attraction she felt towards this bounty hunter, that much was clear from the moment she had seen her face. However, there was another attraction that superseded. It was this desire to help heal Samus's heart. Despite the front she saw, she had already seen a minute glimpse of what was really locked in Samus's heart: an emotionally wounded girl who was waiting for her saviour. And somehow, she wanted to be that saviour.

"So what about you," Samus suddenly asked, pulling Zelda from her thoughts.

"Pardon?"

"What are your plans for the remainder of your stay," said Samus, turning her attention back towards the girl in front of her.

"Not much, except train, observe matches, fight in a few, and spend time with my friends," Zelda simply stated, taking yet another sip of her water, when a thought suddenly hit her. "Samus, if you don't mind my asking how old are you?"

Samus immediately choked on her drink, having been caught completely off guard by the question. "What did you say?"

"I had asked how old you were, if you do not mind me asking," Zelda repeated herself as Samus wiped her mouth and caught her breath. "And I apologize for startling you."

"Don't worry about it too much," Samus coughed, clearing out additional water. "It's…just something nobody's really asked me."

"I see."

"If you want to know," Samus sighed leaning back against her chair, "I just turned 20 last month; at least by the Earth standards, which apparently just happen to follow the time standards of this world."

"That young," Zelda gasped, incredibly surprised and sadden. Samus said nothing and looked out towards the night sky, as stars began to dot the sky.

"You know…they say that seeing the stars above in space is a beautiful thing," Samus sighed, reaching up towards the moon that glowed brightly among the stars, not caring if someone saw. "But…" she began as her hand attempted to grab the moon, "it is something I have to disagree…in space…it is nothing but a sea of darkness, lit up by the stars along with other galactic phenomena…but…to see the stars and the moon…here in the night sky…that is truly more beautiful…"

"What brought this up?" Zelda asked, curious about her statement.

"That is one of the few wishes I still keep in my heart," Samus answered, in a manner different from what Zelda was used to. It sounded like someone who was utterly exhausted, defeated, hurt; someone who just wanted to lie down in a soft bed and rest.

"Wishes?"

"I…I want to be able to see a night sky such as this when I celebrate my birthday," she quietly answered. "But…ever since I left them at 17…I had yet to see a clear night, where the stars and the moon above could shine down on me…wishing me a happy birthday…maybe even let me see or hear my mother and father for once…

"Look at me," she wryly laughed, taking a few gulps of water. "I sound pathetic…talking about such hopeless dreams and ambitions…"

"Samus…"

"I was told…by a native on one planet I had went to…that on the day of your birth…that if you looked up at the stars…although you couldn't see or hear them…you could feel their presence with you, wishing you the best for another year…urging you on to keep fighting…but…that's yet to happen…another year gone…I have yet to hear, see, or feel anything…not with my life…"

"Samus don't-"

"But despite all this…I keep going," she continued on. "I…I'm still human, after all. No matter how long I wear the armour, how often I tell myself to bury it, how often I bury my emotions; I'm still human to the core. I still have my own hopes and dreams…but…I just want to be able to experience one, just one birthday in peace…no missions, no battles, no travelling in the middle of space with no planet with a good view within a few hours travel. Just me and the night sky on my birthday. Is…is that too much to ask for?"

"Samus," said Zelda, finally gaining her attention, "that was…profound, at the very least."

"It's not something I like telling others," Samus sighed, downing the rest of the water. "But…somehow, I feel I can tell you some things I wouldn't tell anyone else. Although it's not in the same way as you feel towards me…I can at least feel that I can trust you with some things."

"That is what friends are for," said Zelda, giving Samus a kind smile. "Sometimes, having friends is the best thing in the world. They offer their ears, and listen to those they care. As I said, I'd like you to be a friend of mine, and I a friend of yours."

"The more I think about it, the more I think this'll help me in the long run," said Samus as their pizza was brought, their drinks placed before them.

"I hope it does," Zelda agreed, raising her wine glass. "To friendship?"

Samus took a moment to glance down at her beer. She was about to start a new chapter in her life. Somehow, she felt that she was about to walk down that path she had worried about before. And yet, this road was looking more, and more inviting as the minutes continued on.

"To friendship."

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"You're done," Samus muttered, immediately grappling Sonic as he charged her and threw him clear off stage.

"THE WINNER IS SAMUS!" the announcer boomed.

Sighing, Samus stared up to the night sky above, glad that it was all over. Her forth challenge had been defeated. And oddly enough, a pleasant feeling swelled within her. It was something she quickly recognised as a sort of pride. She didn't know what she was feeling proud of, but she did.

'Mother…father…are you proud of me…proud of what I've become?' Despite her question to the heavens above, no answer would come.


	5. Chapter 5

**My Dream, My Life**

**Chapter V**

Falling into her bed, Samus laughed wholeheartedly. It was over and done with. The idiots had been silenced. In two days, she had successfully destroyed Donkey Kong, Bowser, Wario, and Sonic. Although she had a feeling were more to come, she felt that she could at least be secured with the knowledge that they would come at her far better prepared than these buffoons had been. Maybe her next challengers would actually be able to put up a fight and not embarrass themselves within minutes into the fight.

Getting up, she quickly shed her blue zero suit, throwing it into the laundry hamper and went for a shower. Despite the fact that the day had been relatively boring, it felt quite satisfying with the way she had defeated Wario and Sonic. The man, Wario, had an extreme fixation on passing gas, and seemed to abuse it at great length. Unfortunately that had turned out to be his major weakness. One passing missile exhaust was enough to ignite the gas that surrounded him. However, the amusing part was that she had ignited the gas while he had been using his ability to pass gas as a means of launching himself high for an attack. Suffice to say, he had gone higher than he had originally planned.

Turning off the shower, she quickly towelled herself off and changed into her sleeping garments. Her match with Sonic had been incredibly sad at best. He boasted considerable speed, but that was all he had. There was no power behind his attacks or his thinking. His attack relied on head-on collisions where his speed would have enough impact for him to follow up with punches and kicks that were meant to throw his opponents off balance. Unfortunately, his punches and kicks themselves weren't impressive at all. In the end, she just had to simply throw him hard to prevent him from being able to recover.

All in all, the day had been a good one. She embarrassed two more would-be challengers, got a little training in, spent part of the day getting to know the princess a bit more, and had a satisfying dinner. Today was a good day.

However, as the euphoria of day faded, her thoughts began to take a darker turn. Falling into her bed a second time now ready for bed, the memories began to come again. Hidden within the darkness of night and in the sanctity of her hotel room, the dark memories of her childhood assaulted her mind.

"Why…why do I keep reliving that moment," she shuddered, curling up into the foetal position. "I…I don't want to remember this…" But despite her demanding desire to let this memory be put to rest, nothing she could do could allow her to stop remembering. The fires, the explosions, the screams of pain, her mind was assaulted with these and more as vivid images rushed through her mind. She struggled to suppress the images. She didn't want to see it. She didn't want to remember. She didn't want to remember seeing her mother's horrified face as she ran up to her to save her from Ridley's attack. She didn't want to remember.

"This is stupid," Samus growled, getting up she pulled on a pair of blue shorts and shoes and headed out not bothering to pull her hair up or caring if her present state of dress was going to draw attention. Climbing the emergency stairwell, she quietly made her way up to the roof where hopefully the night sky and air would help rid her of some tension.

Samus sighed as the cool night air grazed her skin. It didn't bother her too much, having been exposed to extreme cold before in previous missions. It hurt to remember. She had lost so much that day. Her life as a human had ended back then. That monster Ridley had taken everything she held dear to her that day. He led the raid that took everything away from her. It was he who allowed the pirates to run rampant and attacked whatever they pleased.

She was nothing but a 3 year-old girl. She had her whole life before her, and in an instant, it was destroyed, taken away, forever damned to live a life of battles and pain. Sometimes, she wondered if Mother Brain's words from back then were true: she was a biological weapon; a tool whose sole purpose was to fight and destroy.

She immediately shook the thought clear from her head. She was no such thing. The Chozo had not raised and train her to be a weapon for their benefit. They had trained her to be "The Protector" of sorts; Protector of what, she was never able to figure out. They had provided her what emotional support they could, but the scars never healed. The dreams never really left her, nor did the pain. Although it had been over 17 years since that nightmare, the memories of the attack haunted her to this very day. She hated the fact that she was trapped in such a vicious cycle, but there was little she could do about it.

"When can I put this behind me?" she sighed, leaning against the railing and stared off into the distance, with no particular sight in mind.

"Samus?" a voice called. Turning around, Samus's eyes widened in surprise as the Hylian princess approached her dressed in nothing but a sleeping gown and a thin jacket.

"Zelda…what are you doing here?" Samus asked as the princess stood in line with her.

"The same to you, Samus," Zelda replied, giving her a question look of her own.

"Just want to clear my mind of some things. That's all," Samus answered. "You?"

"A habit of mind," Zelda replied. "Back home before I would retire for the night, I would often stand on my balcony on clear nights as such and gaze at the stars above. It helps me clear my mind for the night, and reminisce in the days of joy when my mother was still alive."

"Reminisce huh?" Samus commented, leaning against the railing.

"It helps keep the memory of my mother alive," Zelda continued on. "I find that remembering the good times eases the pain. I occasionally feel the pain that my mother is no longer with me, but despite that, I remember the good days, the days we smiled, the days we laughed, the days that I felt content with my mother. Remembering that often drives away the pain, freeing me of the loneliness and sadness that plagues me. We were very close, so naturally it has taken its toll on me. However, I will not allow the pain to win. I will not allow it to control me. I don't suppress it, I deal with it."

"And I suppose stargazing helps," Samus sighed, having an idea of where this was going.

"It does," Zelda replied, nodding in response. "It was our favourite past time during my time as a child. We would often have long conversations together under the light of the stars and the moon. It didn't matter what we discussed, because for us, it was our bonding time. It was something precious to us; our treasure. It was something really special to me."

"You sound almost as if you want kids of your own and share it," Samus commented, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Perhaps, one day," Zelda wistfully sighed, before deciding to turn the conversation the other way around. "You say you wish to clear your mind of things; would you like to share? Perhaps talking about it would alleviate some things."

"Not particularly," she sighed, rubbing her temples. Unfortunately in addition to her memories of the far past, her most recent memories began to slowly surface. The thoughts of Dark Samus rose from the grave within her mind as it began to replay the horrors the Phazon beast had committed. It had infected her with Phazon. It had destroyed fellow bounty hunters. And worst of all, she had nearly suffered its destructive grasp on numerous occasions. Every corner she had turned, she didn't know if it would be her last step before the corruption took her. She didn't know when the mind rape would end, and when the killing blow was made. It bothered her so much when it had first ended and the reality of it all finally sank in, and it bothered her now.

"It is not healthy to hold such dark thoughts within you," Zelda sighed, placing a hand on Samus's shoulder. "But…if you don't feel you're ready to share it, then I cannot force you."

"Thank you," Samus sighed, patting the hand. "It's…not something I'm ready to share…it's something…I'm having difficulty coming to terms with."

"Perhaps…it would be best if you found some time to yourself and focus on dealing with this thoughts and memories," Zelda suggested. "If they are plaguing you, it would be best if you confronted that which ails you, and put it to rest. I can see that you haven't been able to put some of your demons to rest…however…when you are ready, or need my help, I am here Samus. Please, don't hesitate to call for me."

"I appreciate what you're trying to do, I really do," said Samus, glancing up at the night sky. "But…I don't know…when I'll be able to share these memories…"

"One step at a time, Samus," Zelda comforted, wrapping her arm around Samus's shoulder, the other hand resting on Samus's shoulder. "Take this one step at a time. I promise you, the day you are finally able to put such memories to rest, you will feel so much freer than you are now. You are not alone in this universe."

"Thanks," Samus replied, smiling at the Hylian princess. "You know something? I feel that I can believe that: I'm not alone in this universe."

The two shared a brief smile, before their attention was drawn to the stars above. Somehow, deep within her heart, Samus felt something towards Zelda. There was this sense of security, of trust that was forming. She didn't know how strong it would grow, but she felt that in time, Zelda would become one of the few people in her life that she could trust her life with; that wasn't something she would ever say lightly, especially in the world she lived in. Someday, it would come true.

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"What am I going to do?" Samus sighed. Despite it being 10 in the morning, she had yet to have even prepared for the day. For some reason, she did not want to leave even get up from her bed although she was wide awake. Her sleep had been fine as talking with Zelda last night had helped her clear her mind, but still, she just didn't want to get out. But then there was the fact she didn't know what to do, which was incredibly odd to her. Normally if she didn't have anything to do, she could always go out and train in one of the many training halls that were littered all over the city, or even yet, she could always return to her own part of the universe and go back to work as a bounty hunter. It was what she was best at, after all. But was it what she was meant to do, she wondered.

"Grandpa," she muttered, staring listlessly at the ceiling. "You said to be a true 'Protector of the Galaxy"…but…is it something I can do…something I can really do…" The idea seemed funny to her. She was a bounty hunter, one who often hunted, and usually killed to make a living. Some protector she was, if everywhere she went she was mostly just killing things to make a living. Although defending the Federation from the Space Pirates was one way of her protecting the galaxy, along with destroying Metroids as they crept up from time to time, she wondered if she was truly doing her job.

"But where does that leave me," she wryly stated. In the long run, it was the galaxy that would reap the benefits of her work. There was little for her to gain, save for the small amount of gratitude from the few planets that would truly appreciate her work. In the end, she would eventually become an obscure galactic legend that would be forgotten with the passage of time. There would be no legacy for her. There would be no one to pass down this armour. There would be no one of her blood that would carry on her mantle.

"There isn't a future for me," she sighed, sitting up so that her back was against the wall. Pulling her knees up against her chest, she let out another tired sigh.

Despite having these thoughts from time to time, she still continued to collect bounties and fight. But what was she fighting for, she wondered. It was true that there were a number of things that she could fight for: money, fame, power, recognition of her existence, among other things. But none of her actions had ever been on the intension of protecting the galaxy. The only time she had ever truly done that so far was destroy Mother Brain, and help destroy the planet Phaaze to end the Phazon threat that plagued the galaxy. She had cleansed the galaxy of one piece of filth, but there was no way she could truly protect it. The galaxy was way too big for just one girl to handle.

On top of it all, this wasn't a life she had wanted in the first place. She had been forced into it. She had nowhere to go, and the Chozo was her only means of survival. Although she was eternally grateful of what they had for her, she knew she wanted something more out of her life. She wanted to be able to do something that was worth while in her life, instead of passing up life-chances so that she could continue to hunt for bounties. The thought of giving up bounty hunting as a whole was a bit unnerving, but if she at least had something to return to, some place to heal, recuperate, a place where she could really enjoy her life, it wouldn't be bad. At the very least, she could be human at times and be able to relax.

"Human," she scoffed. She was anything but human. Despite there were times she would let her armoured form rest, she rarely felt human. No one ever treated her as a human, not anymore. Before she had met Zelda, the other Smashers had respected her, but she wasn't sure if they treated her like she was a living being. And long before she even came to these Smash events, she rarely ever felt human. They all treated her as one of the greatest weapons of all times; one that would be put to use when it was required, and when its task was complete they would simply toss it into some 'special corner' until its services were required again and would be called upon to complete the task. Despite knowing her heart wanted to be let out more and allow herself to be human, she could hardly ever allow it. Her life just wouldn't allow it.

It was the painful reality she lived in.

And it was that painful reality she wanted to get away from.

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"Excuse me, but could you possibly direct me to Samus Aran's room?" Zelda asked one of the clerks working behind the main desk.

"Just a moment," he answered, tapping a few buttons on his console before the information came up. "She's on the 5th floor, room 521."

"Thank you," said Zelda, nodding politely towards him before heading towards the elevator.

She was somewhat disturbed. Before having formally met Samus, she had always caught glimpses of the older woman around the area at this hour, whether it was at a battle, eating, or on her way to train or shower. Although the town was incredibly large, she always had this feeling that Samus rarely headed out and would stick to a specific routine that she felt comfortable in. But today, she had looked all over the place where she believed Samus would normally be. But to her surprise, she couldn't find the elusive Samus anywhere. She had resorted to asking a few of the other Smashers if they knew of her whereabouts, but none of them had said they ever saw her leave her room at all in the morning. That had left her the disturbed feeling she had now, as the elevator took her up to Samus's floor.

She had wanted to talk to her again and spend some more time with her. Link was busy training for an upcoming match and wasn't available for the next while, so she had planned to use this time with Samus. But with the fact Samus didn't seem to be anywhere, there were only two possibilities: Samus had left without saying goodbye, or was in her room for some strange reason.

"Just what goes on in your mind," Zelda quietly asked herself leaving the elevator. Walking down the hall, she began counting the doors before she would come to Samus's room. There was a lot locked within Samus's mind that intrigued her. She had a glimpse of what was hidden in there, and felt this urge to want to know more. Something nagged at her to develop a friendship with her, telling her that it would be most beneficial. She was never one to distrust her intuition, and with her dreams seemingly pointing towards Samus that she was the one who would help pave way to happiness, she wasn't one to deny what her instincts were telling her. Whatever it was that Samus had, she would unlock it. And if she was the key to Samus's own happiness, she would gladly help Samus unlock the door.

Coming to Samus's door, Zelda promptly knocked on the door and waited a moment for an answer. Raising an eyebrow, she knocked again a bit harder in hopes of getting an answer.

"Is Samus Aran in?" she asked the computer next to the door.

"Affirmative," the computer responded.

Pressing the intercom, she hoped that it would get Samus's attention. "Samus it is Zelda. May I enter?" Silence followed her request, leaving her to wonder what was wrong with Samus. "Is there a means I may be granted entrance, without her approval?"

"A medical or employee clearance is required," the computer answered.

"Oh dear, is she still inside?" Looking to her left, Zelda noticed an elderly maid approach wheeling in cleaning supplies.

"She's been inside all this time?" Zelda asked incredulously. "Whatever for?"

"I haven't the faintest," the maid sighed. "When I walked in, she was just sitting there, looking as if she was brooding over something. Seemed like she was very deep in thought, so I gave her space and decided to come back later. Unfortunately, it seems she hasn't left."

"I see," said Zelda, letting out a bit of a sigh. "Is it…possible I can be granted access into this room? Perhaps I can talk to her."

"Of course," the maid replied, pulling out a master key. "Mind you, this was the last room I need to do on this floor, but I have other duties so if she wants room service, she'll have to call for it."

"I do not believe that shall be necessary for today," said Zelda as the maid swiped her key through the reader. Giving the maid a thankful smile, she entered Samus's domicile as the door hissed behind her. Glancing over towards the bed, she saw Samus sitting on the back of her bed with her legs pulled up against her chest with her head resting on her knees.

"Samus?" she called out, slowly approaching. Taking off her sandals, she walked up to Samus and keeled next to her bed in hopes of getting a better look at Samus's face. She was clearly awake when her eyes darted to look at her for but a moment, before returning to staring blankly at her thighs.

"Samus?" she tried again, sitting on the edge of Samus's bed and gently pried her arms from one another and pushed her back so that she was resting against the wall. To her surprise, the expression Samus wore made her feel that much more uneasy. They looked incredibly lost lost. It was as if she had stumbled across something so disturbing that it caused her mind to shut down and cope with the sudden and radical disturbance.

"Samus, what happened?" Zelda asked, hoping to get a reaction out of her. "This doesn't seem like you."

"Tell me," she began, her voice hoarse from the lack of water, "am I human…"

"What are you talking about? Of course you are."

"Then…why don't I feel it…"

"Samus, what's wrong?" Zelda asked, now clearly worried about what Samus was exactly talking about.

"I don't feel human…I…don't feel like I am Samus Aran…daughter of Rod and Virginia Aran…I'm…Samus Aran, biomechanical warrior of the Chozo…designed exclusively for the purpose of fighting…to hunt…to destroy…

"It's strange…I…I don't know how long this has been going on…how…how long has it been…since I've felt human…10 years…15…almost 20?" Samus scoffed at the notion. "I haven't been treated like a real…like a real human…since I've lost my home…oh sure…the Chozo treated me as their own…but…it was like more their saviour, then a member of their family…except Grandpa…he…he was the only one…my employers, the Galactic Federation, they just see me as a tool for their own gains…what am I exactly…?"

"Samus, stop this!" Zelda pleaded, shaking the clearly distressed girl. "You ARE Samus Aran. You ARE human, born on your home world K-2L. You ARE the daughter of Rod and Virginia Aran. You are an equal. You are not a monster, created for nothing but fighting. You were raised, not CREATED. That is something that you created. You are not a machine of any sorts Samus. You are a pure human. You are not something that these Chozo created. It is your armour…" trailing off, she wondered if it had to do something with the fact that she was more well known in her armour, then the distraught person before her.

"Samus…have you…have you ever fought without your armour?" she asked.

"Are you kidding me?" she replied, laughing at the sheer idea of the question. "I'd be murdered! I did once, it almost got me killed! I RARELY take off the armour in my battles…even my Smash battles…there's no chance in hell I ever take it off…"

Zelda pondered for a moment. There had to be some way for her to pull Samus out of this. It was clear that it was eating her deep inside. She had to stop this before it could grow any further. She had to prevent her from entering a much more dangerous state of depression, and self-loathing. An idea came to her, but she wasn't sure of the results. But at present with her options few, she had little choice but to try and see it through. At the very least, she hoped that it could shed just a bit more light on the situation, and give her a better understanding and a better idea of how to deal with it.

"Samus, fight with me in the upcoming pairs battle happening in a few days, without your armour," Zelda firmly stated.

"Are you kidding me?" she scoffed with the same response. "Who would want to watch someone they've rarely seen battle with one of the more renowned competitors? People would cheer for me if I were wearing my armour, but probably not a chance in hell with my Zero Suit."

"That's just it," Zelda answered, maintaining her grip on Samus's shoulders. "People, and therefore you, recognize you as Samus Aran, the armoured bounty hunter, the armoured Brawler of Brawlers. You've spent so much time in your armour; people identify you with your armour. YOU identify yourself with your armour. It is a part of you. I cannot change that. But you should not be identifying your own reality, your own self with that armour. Your armour is an integral tool, but it is just that. It is a tool, used to combat your foes. It is a tool used to shield you from things you do not want others to see. However, you are not a tool. You are a human. You are real like me. You have a heart like me. You have feelings like me. You are just as real as me, Captain Falcon, Bowser, Yoshi, Mario, or even Mr. Game and Watch.

"They identify themselves not because of the tools that they use. They identify themselves for the accomplishments they have achieved in the past, the hearts and lives people their presence has touched, the fact that they are being themselves, the fact they live and breath for themselves and for whoever they fight to live for, the fact that they are proud of who they really are. You should be identifying yourself with what's in here," pointing to her chest, "not what is in here," pointing to her head, "or that is stored in there," pointing to her left hand where her personal logo was lightly scarred on the back of her hand.

"Zelda," said Samus, letting out a tired sigh. "Thank you."

"What?" Zelda said, taken aback by the sudden change in Samus's mood. "Are…are you alright?"

"For now yeah," Samus sighed. "It's still hurting…but…it was nice…letting it out a bit…I know…this me…and that me…neither of them are a false representation of me…but…there are times…I just want to be what I am…human…no worries about battle, no planning my next move, no need to think about how I'm going to make sure I make enough to pay off debts and still live a decent life outside of my job…the silence…it makes me think…of things I don't want to think…it makes me see…how much of a tool I really am…at least to my employers…I always appear in my armour…and…they always talk to me like a machine…I guess I've gotten so used to it…that I occasionally feel like I am one…I mean think about it…I mercilessly destroy my bounties, I took care of my challengers with ruthless efficiency…I can't be human…to do this without blinking an eye…"

"Yes. You. Can." Zelda firmly stated. "I may not have done it, but I know that soldiers of my kingdom, even Link, have taken lives without so much as giving it a second thought. They too have been forced to take drastic measure, and have killed without a care, without remorse. However, what makes them human is their ability to accept the fact that there are sides to them that can and will kill without a care. They coexist with it. They keep it in check; ready to release it, but only when it is a final resort.

"You too can do that: control your darker mind and abilities for those who rightly deserve it, or when you are on the field of battle. In war, in battles, there are no rules. It is survival of the fittest. You know that better than I do. You are more than capable of putting these thoughts aside. Do not let it control you. Do not let it take you into a depressive world of self-loathing and self-ridicule. You are not worthless. You are not a tool. You are not a machine.

"Now answer me: who are you? Who are you really?"

"I'm…I'm…Samus Aran…" she stuttered with great difficulty. "D-daughter of…of…Adoptive Granddaughter of…" She clenched her fists tightly as she tried to get the words out. Sadly, no matter how hard she tried, the words just wouldn't come to her. It was as if her heart didn't know who she was, but her mind did.

Letting out a sigh, she relaxed her body, defeated. "I don't know who I am…"

"Oh Samus," said Zelda, pulling her into a friendly hug. "It's alright…it's alright…"

"I guess…some wounds never really heal…" Samus muttered.

"No," she firmly stated, pulling back so that she could look at Samus eye to eye. "All wounds heal. It is the scars they leave behind that never leave. However, it is you who must accept the scars and deal with them."

"You keep saying things like that but…I don't see how I'll be able to heal them," Samus sighed, finally getting out of bed and walked over to the window that overlooked the city. "I've been carrying all this for…almost 20 years…how the hell am I supposed to deal with all that's happened to me…"

"You stop, and think about all that's happened to you, confront all that you've seen, all that has hurt you," Zelda began and walked so that she stood parallel with Samus. "You take a step back from the life you lead and slowly confront all that ails and plagues you one by one…you allow yourself time to come to grips with what has happened, and let the wounds heal. In time, they'll become distinguishing features of your character. It becomes part of who you are, part of the greater whole that is you."

"You sound like someone of experience," Samus commented.

"As I have said, I lost my mother," Zelda answered. "However, I was fortunate that I lost her at the age of 9; ten years ago. My father on the other hand, he passed away before I was born. I never knew my father. He died from a construction accident. He died instantly from what mother had recalled…and yes, since my father's unfortunate death, Hyrule has been under a matriarchy for some time now.

"In any case, as I have told you, I lost my mother. It took me a while, but eventually I had to accept it: my mother was gone, and there wasn't anything I could do about it. However, I also realized I couldn't hide or suppress the memory. Before that, believe it or not, I was in denial, that mother was sleeping, even when I watched her body burn. My heart just couldn't accept it. But…eventually I had come to realise something else; ignoring the fact my mother died, is ignoring everything she had ever lived for. She lived for Hyrule to give it a ruling body. She lived for herself because she wanted to live. However, I had come to realize that…during her illness, she fought to live so she could see me through this world. She wanted me to be prepared to take her place as the leader of Hyrule as best she could, even when she was ill.

"I hope to be able to match her passion one day…My point is that what my mother had done for me, right up until she died, I remember all that and I honour that memory. I keep my mother alive not by denying she's dead, but by accepting everything about her, and just remember. Let it be there. That was how I eventually came to terms that I had lost my mother. She may be gone from me in body, but I know that she is here with me; in my heart; as should the memory of your mother, your father, your grandfather. That is how you should come to terms with the loss of your loved ones. I am unsure of your other experiences, but fighting the memory…it will not solve anything…"

Samus lightly craned her head so that she could look at Zelda. She envied her. Although they had similar experiences, it was clear that she had it easier in terms of trauma, but she couldn't be sure as she had stated she hated her position as the princess of Hyrule. It could be possible that there were aspects of her life and her position that she hated and wished she didn't have to do. But in retrospect, they couldn't compare to what she had to go through. She had to deal with the chemical Phazon, she had fought Metroid Prime and destroyed it, only for it to reborn into a dark, sick, twisted perversion of what she was, and what made it worse was that on the day it had infected her with Phazon, it had slowly raped her mind, little by little as it's dark tendrils crept through the crevices of her mind, slowly bringing her close and closer to the edge of madness in its unending desire to corrupt her.

Then there was the torture of seeing those whom she had considered her saviours side with the darkness of the Space Pirates. Grey Bird had been one of them. And the words that Mother Brain had said to her when she was 14, it still bothered her. Being told that she was a biological weapon had shaken her really bad. It ended up with her being blindsided by Ridley that day. There were so many memories she didn't want to remember, but the longer she continued to fight, the harder it became to push it all down each day.

"You're a piece of work," Samus sighed, falling down until she was sitting cross-legged on the floor. "You always seem to know the exact things to do or say…is this normal for you?"

"It was part of my training," Zelda answered. "And we have shared similar experiences, so I am able to relate much easier, than if I hadn't the faintest of what you had gone through. But…please, try. The longer you try to contain it, the harder it will be to come to terms with it when your mind has unfortunately snapped. Please try."

"Then…help me," Samus asked, to the surprise of Zelda. "If it'll help me rid of these nightmares…then I'll do what I need to do…to put these demons to rest…"

"I'll do my best," said Zelda, pulling Samus into another hug, letting her head rest on her shoulder. "I'll do my best…"

"So…" said Samus after a moment of silence, "what's this about a double's match?"


	6. Chapter 6

**My Dream, My Life**

**Chapter VI**

"Let's try this again," Samus sighed, for what seemed like the one millionth time today.

For the last two days, they had been planning, and training various strategies for them to use for the upcoming team battles. All in all, their plans and strategies worked out well in theory. However, their plan revolved the heavy use of hand-to-hand combat in combination with Zelda's magic. Unfortunately, Zelda's capabilities were less than stellar. Whoever had taught her hand-to-hand and self-defence was not only an amateur, their teaching methods had been incredibly horrible. With that in mind, they had been spending the last day trying to get Zelda's movements down to something more useful so that she could defend herself. At the very least, she needed to know how to fight long enough to distance herself from her opponents.

Zelda simply nodded as she started a set from the top. Dressed in a set of training clothes that Samus loaned her and her hair held up in a ponytail, she began executing the moves she had been taught by Samus. Despite her good memory and the Triforce assisting her in learning and memorizing the movements, her body was not used to it. Although Samus had said these were the essentials, it took every fibre in her body to maintain the form correctly. Every muscle were tensing and relaxing in discord as she struggled to make the transition from one stance to the next. Initially, she had astounded Samus when she had shown, although with great difficulty, that she had memorized every single stance in the sequence. However, her shortcoming was the fact that her actual form and positioning were all incorrect. The end result was this painstaking session of perfecting her stances, and to make sure that all of her moves flowed from one stance to the next, without stopping at any point in between.

Samus watched as Zelda struggled to maintain. She knew that this training wasn't going to be easy. She didn't even think that Zelda would be able to learn anything else before the matches occurred in three days time. The best they could hope for was that Zelda could master this basic form, and be able to incorporate that into her fighting style. The general purpose of this was to simulate what her body would do when her opponent came at her in certain ways. Although she was having her transition from one set of movements to the next, in reality these moves were all standalones, where she hoped that if she could ingrain this into her mind and body, she could very well react as she had practiced. Of course, this was the theory. She had years to master everything she knew about Chozo martial arts. Zelda on the other hand would need to learn this in 3 days time.

"Doing better," Samus commented partway through the set. Luckily, unlike others, Zelda from the beginning never broke her concentration whenever she was spoken to. Keeping her responses brief, it allowed her to focus on other things and maintain her control over her body.

Her body was aching. Her body had been put under so much strain over the last few days. The combat sessions were nothing, however, to the excruciating training that Samus was putting her through. The odd positions, the precision, the fluidity required for the movements, it all built up and had taken its toll on her body yesterday when they had finally finished, and it was taking its toll on her body again today. By the end of today, she knew that she wouldn't be able to move properly again until the morning, where most of her muscles would just be aching. However, she was fortunate enough that they were only lightly sore this morning, as Samus had the forethought to ensure that she had drank a fair amount of water, and had her undergo stretching regularly throughout the training. Otherwise, her body would be in worse shape than it already was, according to Samus.

"Finish this set, and we'll call it in early," said Samus when Zelda was reaching the end of the set. She gave her a question stare, but said nothing else not wanting to break the rhythm she had finally been able to get herself into.

"You're body needs time to recover," Samus answered, grabbing a couple bottles of water. "Taking into account that yesterday was the first time you receiving intensive martial arts training, it would be a better idea that we took it easy in terms of duration of the session; at least for today. Tomorrow though, we're going full-tilt again. If we want to do well, we need to continue to work on our coordination. I'd like to be able to work on your hand-to-hand, but we can't neglect the important part of our team: teamwork. Without that, we're screwed."

"I'm inclined to agree," Zelda puffed out, having finished the set. Slowly lowering herself down, she got down into a comfortable position on the floor before gratefully accepting the proffered bottle of water, immediately drinking down its cool comforting content as the water did its magic, cooling down her exhausted body.

"You doing alright?" Samus asked the princess, kneeling down next to her drinking from her bottle.

"I am quite exhausted," Zelda sighed, wiping the sheen of sweat from the top of her forehead. "Was your training this intensive?"

"No, it wasn't," Samus admitted. "With our lack of time, you need to learn how to use what little hand-to-hand capabilities I can teach you and apply it. With our strategy requiring your magic, your other form is useless to us since that form has very limited access to your magic." Zelda nodded in understanding to Samus's logic. Although an effective form it was, it was useless to what they had planned.

"Anyways, let's hit the hot springs," Samus said, getting up and putting her things back into her bag.

"Hot springs?" she asked, raising a delicate brow. "What are those?"

Samus raised her eyebrows in surprise at the question, but steeled herself from blurting out something rude. "Uh…well as you know, one of the nearby mountains here is a volcano. Basically, hot springs are pools of water that are heated up by the hot temperatures of the volcano."

"I see," said Zelda in an understanding manner. "But why a hot spring? Why not just shower here?"

"Simple: you're body could use a relaxing bath in a hot spring. The heat will relax your muscles," Samus explained, and walked over to help up Zelda. "Besides…it's not often I get to indulge like this…actually…this would be the first time I've been able to visit the Smash Hot Springs."

"First time?" Zelda asked, curious as to what she meant by that.

"Before I met you, I already told you that I had never taken off my armour," Samus began to explain as Zelda packed her things. "No one, I meant that no one had ever seen me without my armour. Whenever I came here, I'd show up in my armour and make my usual request that my training room be restricted for me only. It was only when I was completely alone, that I'd take off this suit. Otherwise, the suit stayed on. Unfortunately, that…paranoia and my preference for privacy kept me away from some things. I knew that no one knew who I was underneath but…I suppose I just never liked the idea of letting people see my face if I could help it."

"I suppose," Zelda agreed, following Samus out the room. "How exactly shall we make our way towards these hot springs?"

"I rented a vehicle," Samus casually answered, to Zelda's surprise.

"Rented a vehicle?" she repeated.

"Yup," she answered back, procuring a set of keys from her bag. "I could easily afford one, especially after the tournament, but…I'm not here all the time, so it wouldn't be a good idea to invest that much into owning one."

"I suppose not," Zelda agreed again, exiting the building. "So where exactly is your vehicle?"

"I parked it at the hotel," Samus answered. "I only rented it out last night, and considering how close we are to this particular gym, I didn't see a point to use it yet. The hot springs on the other hand, we'll need it, especially since I don't think you could teleport that far away, nor would other people using the transit system appreciate the smell of two sweaty women."

"No, I could not, and I would most likely feel the same if I were one of those passengers," Zelda simply answered. "You seem quite…relaxed as of late, Samus."

"Do I?" Samus asked, recalling through the past few days. "I suppose you could say that…I suppose the stress of training lately has really taken my mind off things…it…doesn't usually happen actually…"

"Perhaps…it is because you often trained alone," Zelda offered. "Because the way you seem to act as of late, it's almost as if…a part of you that had been long repressed has finally been given a chance to stretch her legs, if even for a little while."

"I suppose you could say that," said Samus. "My grandpa had always said I had a fiery spirit. I was also quite active as a kid. It was of course training, but…I suppose since I was a kid, I saw it more as a game of sorts. My stamina's greater than a human, including my strength, so I could outlast a lot of athletes. I did a lot of running back then; even used grandpa as a vaulting horse a few times when I was about…4 or 5."

"I would surmise that he was not happy," Zelda commented, amused at the idea of using someone in that manner.

"Oh I surprised him the first time I did it," said Samus, smiling at the memory. "I was doing my regular laps around a track, and I had taken a little detour just to pull that off. The look on his face was…quite hilarious at the time. He had no idea what had hit him until after I had finished my laps. By then, I was an absolute mess because I could stop laughing over the fact I had done that. Oh…those were the days…"

"You miss him, don't you?" she asked.

"Yeah…he…was the first of his people I had met…I was three at the time…actually it was through him I was able to actually become friends with Pyonchi…and…he was the one who saved me back then…mama…papa…he did his best to take the mantle they had left behind…but…in the end, he couldn't completely help me with my pain…but despite that, I'll be forever grateful to him for what he did for me…I would have died that day if he hadn't returned to my planet."

"It seems you have lost many people in your life," Zelda sadly commented, placing a comforting hand on Samus's bare shoulder.

"It's something that I've had to try and deal with," she nonchalantly replied, readjusting the straps of the tank top.

"How can you say it-"

"Don't even go there," Samus cut in, preventing Zelda from finishing her sentence. "Please…I'd rather not discuss that topic…at least not yet…"

"One step at a time Samus," Zelda assured, squeezing Samus's shoulder. "One step at a time."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Welcome ladies," an attendant happily greeted Samus and Zelda as they walked in. Samus simply flashed a special pass towards the attendant.

"Please take your shoes off before you enter," said the attendant, indicating towards the shelves that lined the entrances, where people's shoes were placed. The two simply nodded, however, took out different pairs of shoes from their bags and placed them on the shelves, bagging their training shoes. After behind handed a sheet of the rules and etiquette of the place, they quickly entered the locker room.

"I don't like dealing with them," Samus sighed and quickly relieved herself of her sweaty clothes and threw it into a locker, and reached into her bag and pulled out a towel and a few things for washing herself.

From her standpoint, Zelda couldn't help but marvel the flawlessness of Samus's body. Without her clothes or zero suit, she could see every curve, every single muscle, well shaped and defined. She was a true athlete. However, despite the beauty of her body, it was marred and blemished with scars of varying size and depth all over her body. Some of them were cuts that lined her torso and parts of her legs, while others seemed to have been caused by burns, or from some other form of burning that she was not familiar with. There was one particular scar that stood out though among the ones she could see on Samus's back.

Reaching out, she gently touched a round scar on Samus's upper back, causing her to jump in surprise and turn around. "The hell was that for?"

"Pardon me," Zelda apologized. "However…that scar…what…caused it?"

"A blaster wound," she sighed, turning around revealing a similar scar on her chest. "I was lucky it just missed my heart and spine. I would've been dead right then and there."

Zelda said nothing more, but tentatively reached out and rest the pads of her fingers on the scar on her chest. Receiving an approving nod, she lightly traced the scar, wondering what sort of pains she must've had to endure. Although it showed her Samus's prowess, it also gave her an idea of how exactly dangerous Samus's life was. This was a tribute to that, as she could've died on the day she had received this particular injury.

"Such a dangerous life," she whispered.

"You have no idea," Samus sighed, grabbing her things. "C'mon…there's a better place to talk about things than here." Zelda quietly agreed, putting away her things in her locker and grabbed her own washing materials.

"So how exactly does it work here?" Zelda asked, noting how the next room looked more like a shower room.

"According to the sheet, we wash ourselves in here first and then we use the actual hot springs," Samus explained from memory. "They're stingy like that apparently." Settling down into a stall, Samus began to clean herself up, with Zelda quickly following suit.

Their shower was held in silence, as the only noise that was heard was the constant stream of water from their showerheads. Nothing was said, and a relative peace was maintained between the two of them. It wasn't awkward, but it wasn't something that Zelda liked too much. She would have very much preferred it if she could be able to talk with Samus, but it was clear that she wasn't in the mood to talk just yet. Perhaps it had been a bad idea to have a closer examination of those scars, but seeing them had sparked concern within her. Just what sorts of dangers she was in on a regular basis, she wasn't exactly sure. But it was clear that she was seeing a considerable amount of danger than she personally liked, however, she had no say of what Samus did or didn't do. All she could do was pray for her safety when she returned to her own world, and hoped that she would see her again next year after they went their separate ways.

Glancing over towards the Samus's silhouette, she felt her cheeks heat up somewhat. Samus's body was incredible. It was incredibly well toned, defined, and above all, it was incredibly alluring, to her embarrassment. Which brought on a particular thought: what kind of lengths, men and women alike, would go through in order to be with Samus, even for a night? The very thought made her body involuntarily shudder, and feel the need to regurgitate. It disturbed her. The thought that Samus was sleeping with anyone made her sick to her stomach. And for some reason, she felt the Triforce react in a similar manner. She wondered why exactly she was feeling this way, but the answer eluded her, so she chose not to dwell on it too much. However, she made a note to possibly go over it in greater depth some time later, when she had more time.

Samus let out a heavy sigh. Something was incredibly wrong with her. It had taken everything, all of her willpower not to suddenly blush and ogle Zelda's body. Having seen her in nothing but modest dresses and in the Chozo training clothes she had loaned her, she had no idea what had been hidden underneath all that. It was as if she had suddenly been graced by the presence of a goddess. It was as if beauty incarnate had stood right there before her, inviting her to taste her divine lips, to suckle on her perfect mounds, to take her nether lips and taste the sweet honey nectar of absolute bliss.

Her heart pounded heavily in her chest, and she couldn't figure out why. Somehow, she was sexually attracted to Zelda. There was something that was just tugging at her to take Zelda and bed her until the end of eternity. And it had only gotten worse when she was touching her. The way she had traced her scars, it raised emotions that she thought she had lost long ago. The feeling of knowing someone cared, for a fleeting moment bubbled to the surface. For a moment, she felt elated, happy, that someone cared that she had suffered what would have been a lethal injury. And despite the momentarily contact, she had memorized it; the feather light touch, the smooth silk of her fingers, the gentle wind that was her voice when she had whispered, it was already burned into her memory. For what reason, she didn't know.

What made her really wonder what went through her mind was the fact that the moment she wondered if Zelda slept with anyone, she wanted to wretch at the very thought of it. Somehow, somewhere, deep within her, there was something in her that wanted Zelda to herself. It was also the part of her that wanted to bed Zelda; the part that wanted to hold her forever and never let go, to always protect what was rightful hers and never let anything harm it. It confused her greatly. She had no idea how and what caused this part of her to form, or possibly surface. It made no sense to her, but she had no idea how to deal with it. Letting out a heavy sigh, she gently pushed the thought from her mind. This, of all places, especially in front of Zelda, was not the best place to think about it, without risking further embarrassments, even if Zelda was oblivious to what she felt.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

A little while later, the two finally finished their shower, feeling the crisp refreshing feeling from having a shower. Stepping outside with only a towel to protect their modesty, they were greeted with a myriad of hot springs littered throughout the property, of varying sizes. Some were full of people, while others had one or two occupants on two different sides enjoying a quiet bath.

"How about over there?" Zelda suggested, pointing towards a particularly isolated pool in the far back. Samus simply nodded and the two quietly made their way over towards the spot, passing by various people. Most of them were gender specific, but in a few of the pools, she noticed a few were a mix of both genders. Most were families where a mother, father, and their children shared a single spring, but some of the larger ones were being occupied by couples. Taking a few breaths, she suppressed the nagging feeling in her heart seeing the amount of love she had been denied. She could see it clear as day as to the amount of love that was in the air between couples and families. She really didn't particularly enjoy seeing this, because it reminded her of things lost long ago. She knew that they couldn't help it that they wanted to show their love, but it bothered her nonetheless. She hated this nagging feeling. It never went away, and she highly doubted that it would ever go away.

"It still bothers you?" Zelda quietly asked Samus. "The sight of couples, and families?" Samus simply nodded in response, feeling that if she opened her mouth she'd rant and most likely upset a lot of people.

"I share your feelings at times," she quietly sighed. "I envy them for slightly different reasons though…I envy the happiness and togetherness of family that I have long lost…but I more so envy the simplicity of their union…I who is of royal bloodline must adhere to various protocols and rules required of a princess like myself. And…as for my love life…it is most difficult…to find the one whom my heart shall belong to…most marriages are arranged marriages as a means of forming alliances, or to quell hostilities between two kingdoms. Some turn out well, some fall apart…but…I do not want that…when I marry, I want to be able to marry someone whom I already trust, and can entrust my life to. I want to be able to know that I will marry with someone whom I will happy with. Someone who'll be able to bright joy into my life, and give me the pleasure to bring joy into their life…I envy those who are not bound by court rules and protocols…their choices…are of their own making."

"You make it sound like you don't care if it's a man or a woman," Samus commented, coming up to the pool that Zelda had pointed out.

"That's because I do not," she casually answered.

"What?!" Samus stuttered, faltering in her step and nearly falling into the spring. "What did you say?!"

"I am…what is the term…bisexual, by your standards," she answered, undoing her towel and folded it up neatly before immersing herself in the spring. Letting out a content sigh, she allowed her body to relax in the hot water as her aching muscles began to slowly relax.

"However, despite that classification, I am not attracted to men and women in that sense," she continued on. "However, I believe that love, real love, knows no gender. If I find love in the arms of a woman, I'll accept it gladly. Besides…if she were my soul mate, it wouldn't matter to me…in the end, he, or she would complete me, and I would complete them. So…placing boundaries on love…it is something I honestly do not understand. If a man loves a man, or a woman, or a woman loves a man or woman, they should be allowed to pursue that love without fear of bigotry or discrimination. That is my belief on the matter."

"Wow…that's…quite a lot to take in" Samus sighed, having not expected that answer. Folding up her towel, she placed it next to Zelda's and lowered herself opposite of the princess, and let out a contented sigh of her own, glad that she had decided to come hers. She had most definitely needed this little break from the normal routine.

"So, what do you think?" Samus asked, indicated towards the hot springs.

"Refreshing," Zelda simply answered. "How long does one normally stay in these springs?"

"Usually an hour or so," Samus answered. "Although it could be longer or shorter if you want. I don't really have anything to do today."

"An hour sounds sufficient," said Zelda, looking up towards the mountain top. It was a calming sight, something which she particularly enjoyed. Getting a chance to view a mountain this close wasn't something she could do often.

"What is it like, living alone like you do?" Zelda asked, curious as to the kind of lifestyle Samus actually led. The amount of scars, the pain in her eyes, Zelda couldn't help but wonder what kind of pains she had to go through growing up until now. Did she ever have a serious injury disabling her for weeks? Did she ever end up in a situation where she cried out for her mother? Did she ever have close encounters from insanity from the loneliness of the vast space above that she and her people dreamed of visiting? So many questions filled her mind; she didn't know where to begin.

"It's…painful," Samus sighed after a moment of silence to bring her thoughts together. "When I'm on mission, obviously I don't have time to think about anything but…during the quiet times…in between missions when I'm not home…I pretty much go through what you saw me go through a few days ago: mentally weak…helpless…self-loathing…half the time to avoid it I go into cryogenic-hibernation to avoid it all. It helps, because it puts me into a deep sleep where I don't dream, I don't think…I'm just…lying there, flying through the stars while my ship takes me to wherever I'm needed out there. But…like I said…I prefer seeing the stars…out here in the night sky, rather than in the darkness of space…sure it has its appeals but…there's just something…something that can't be captured but on a clear night."

"I wouldn't doubt," said Zelda, giving Samus a somewhat forlorn expression. "I…I can't even begin to imagine…how lonely it is…no one to talk to…no one to look at…enjoy a meal with…to do anything with…it is…just you, and your thoughts…it seems so…depressing, so dark."

"When you've been doing it for a few years…you get used to it," Samus said sadly. "But I don't like it…but as a bounty hunter…it's an occupational hazard…I can't help it…"

"But…don't bounty hunters…interact with others?" Zelda asked, curious as to why she lived such a lonely existence, especially where she lived, the number of people out there was numerous.

"I had a few friends…but…in the end, I lost them all," Samus muttered. "Our battles against the Space Pirates took them away…in the end, I was left with nothing…no one was left…the only CO I ever trusted…my team-mates…the Chozo…I was alone…I…had a few acquaintances that helped me with my jobs but…in the end, I was alone…left with my thoughts…my sadness, memories, myself…I didn't have anybody left…it got to the point…I stopped caring about my situation with people. People paid me to do things, and I did it. No questions asked. It was that simple. And this was the end result. I ended up disliking human interactions…because I had forgotten what it was like to have friends. A part of me had fallen asleep. Oh sure there were some who I could trust…but…it was just an employee-employer trust. Nothing ever grew out of those. In the end…the only person…whom I could really call a friend, is you."

"Samus, don't say-"

"But it's true," she interjected, breathing out deeply. "I haven't had anyone who I could call a friend in years…and…it's been so long…I've been able to tell anything to anyone…to be able to…open up…to begin to…free myself, as it were…I don't know…but…talking about my life…at least the parts I'm comfortable with…it feels like I'm able to stand a little straighter…hold my head a bit higher…go a bit farther…feel a bit lighter…it's…what's the word…"

"Liberating?" Zelda offered. "Relieving? Giving you a sense of freedom from what holds you down?"

"Yeah…something like that," said Samus, smiling a bit.

Sliding over, Zelda sat herself down next to Samus and took her hand and held it tight in both of hers. "That's good. Believe it or not, you are taking the first of many steps towards the light. Until the end, I will stand here with you, as a friend. And…I am glad you are able to see me as the same thing. And it seems that healing all your wounds, doesn't look impossible as you thought it, doesn't it?"

"Yeah…you're right…"

"Friendship, love, family, desires, dreams, willpower, they give you the strength, the power to do whatever it is you want to accomplish," Zelda stated, her eyes boring straight through Samus's, in hopes of even seeing a glimmer of the girl that she wanted to see flourish. "So long as your friends stay true to you, and your desires and dreams are there, and your willpower ongoing, one day, no matter how difficult the path, it will lead you to what you desire and dream for."

"You know…the way you say it…doesn't make the road to recovery look so bad," said Samus, smiling a bit towards the Hylian princess.

"I'm glad."

"But…I swear, that by far…was the corniest thing I had ever heard from you," Samus pointed out, smirking at the look of indignation smeared all over Samus's face.

"Well pardon me," Zelda sighed, leaning back against the edge of the spring, rubbing her temples indicating something was wrong, save for the equally amused smirk written across her face.

"Now that's a first: a sarcastic princess," Samus observed, amused at the sudden change of mood.

"Just because I am a princess, it doesn't mean I do not know how to…skilfully word what I say," Zelda coyly replied.

"Skilfully word you say?" Samus challenged, an amused smirk forming on her face. "They sure don't make princesses like they do these days."

"Oh? And pray tell what would be your definition of a princess?" Zelda challenged, curiosity piquing her interest mixed with amusement from their light-hearted banter. A refreshing change to the more philosophical and emotional discussions they've had before.

"Oh I don't know…I'd expect her to be…wearing frilly dresses…all pompous stuck-up brat who's been spoiled rotten…a classical damsel who's just a walking target to become distressed…the usual stereotypes and the like," Samus responded, ticking off each point like she was reporting the whether, all the while with an amused smile plastered on her face.

"Oh?" Zelda questioned. "But I wear frilly dresses as required as a princess, I was spoiled rotten when my mother was alive, and I have become a damsel in distress before. What makes me different from any other "stereotypical" princess, hmm?"

"Easy," Samus answered, leaning in so they were nearly nose to nose, "you can fight thanks to me and use your magic as a weapon, and you are by far the most intelligent and well-mannered princess I've met in my life, and I have seen many princesses in my years. None of them are anything like you. They care for nothing but themselves because they've been raised not having to worry about leading a country or a planet. All they care is for themselves, and to make a good impression on the man who shall become her husband and king."

"So you say…" Zelda idly commented, acting as if Samus's face wasn't in hers while looking at her hand in an aristocratic manner. "So you say…"

"Quite so," Samus replied back, leaning back against the edge of the spring again. "Feeling better?"

"Much," Zelda sighed, enjoying the hot water.

"Good…because I have a feeling we'll be taking quite a few baths here over the next few days," Samus chuckled.

"I suppose it cannot be helped," Zelda sighed. "Although I am surrounded by nobles and warriors…not many of us are trained in any real art of warfare."

"More like you don't have any professional soldiers," said Samus, resting her arms against the edge of the spring. "Whoever trained you to fight taught you something that wasn't practical. It looked more like some dance; a poor one at that. True that what I'm teaching you is Chozo martial arts, but at the very least, you can kick most people's asses now compared to before. That and you'll do it in style."

"Pardon me?" Zelda asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Basically you'll do it in a fashion and manner 'fitting' for a princess," Samus explained, and quickly added, "That and whatever I teach you, you'd be able to pull it off in a dress."

"Is that so…"

"Bad idea to do it on purpose," said Samus, seeing where the thought was possibly going. "It's more like if you're forced to fight in a dress, in most cases you're movement won't be too badly messed up by them."

"I see," said Zelda, readjusting her sitting position so that her legs wouldn't fall asleep. "Perhaps we should bring something to drink next time."

"Bad idea, their rules prohibit that," Samus stated, pointing to one of the signs that said, 'No Food or Water Permitted.' "And might I direct your attention to the penalty stated below: 'Offenders will be persecuted.'"

"Well…it seems that idea has been thwarted," said Zelda, a bit surprised at such a strict rule being placed on the place.

"Well it makes sense," Samus pointed out. "This is a major tourist attraction."

"Agreed," Zelda said, before something came to mind. "What is the general outline of our training for the upcoming few days before the matches begin?"

"Hmm…well…now that you have a better idea of hand-to-hand, I say that we spend maybe an hour, two hours maximum working on your martial arts a day, break, and then possibly an hour of combat training, an hour lunch break, and an hour of researching our opponents, and then we end off the day with a 3 hour training session working on our coordination." At present, that was the wisest and best solution she could up with for their training. With Zelda's endurance most likely still below hers, she had to handle this a bit differently as to maximise their training in such a way that the both of them could benefit from it.

"I see. Exactly what will the 'researching' entail?" Zelda asked.

"Basically we'd see who are going to be competing, and research what their general fighting styles are, their weapons of choice, and their signature moves if they have any, such as Capt. Falcon's well-known punch. The purpose of the research is to be able to recognise them, and be able to react to them."

"A somewhat underhand tactic, but it is necessary," Zelda sighed. "Although…I suppose we are no better, than them."

"What makes you say that?" Samus asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"They shall be expecting you in your armour," Zelda answered, a mischievous glint present in her eyes. "They will not be prepared to combat you as you are now, as they do not know what you are capable of. As for me, I have not fought often enough for our opponents to possess sufficient information of my fighting styles."

"True…I suppose you could say…we're a pair of wildcards," Samus commented, smirking at the very idea that they had the advantage in terms of intelligence. While it was true that people would know that they were paired, their opponents would most likely assume that she only fought in her Varia Suit. And with Zelda still somewhat an unknown, they had the element of surprise.

"I like your thinking," Samus stated, patting Zelda's shoulder. "We're going to rock their world when we show up and surprise them with out strategy."

"That we will," Zelda readily agreed. "That we will."


	7. Chapter 7

**My Dream, My Life**

**Chapter VII**

"Link, a moment of your time," Zelda requested, approaching the Hylian warrior who was about to sit down for dinner. Her only answer was a nod and a smile from her champion, who indicated to sit across him. She smile in return and sat herself down and took a moment to compose herself. His behaviour wasn't something that really bothered her. He was someone of few words. He rarely spoke, but whenever he did, it was mostly because it wasn't something he could voice with his body language, or facial expressions. And even when he spoke, it was usually quite brief.

Link gave her a pointed look while eating, calmly waiting for the princess to speak. From her demeanour, it was clear that there was something troubling her. And from what he could observe, it was something a bit personal that she could only bring to him. A few possibilities came to mind, but he only kept note of them, not dwelling on them until he heard Zelda's story, and then come to a conclusion based on that information instead of making guesses.

"The last few days…have been interesting, to say the least," Zelda began, her mind coming together with what she wanted to talk about. "It started a few days ago when Samus had taken me to the Smash Hot Spring resort. It was…when we were in the change room…it's…somewhat hard to explain." Link, however, just calmly ate his dinner, while maintaining his attention on the princess. She was a smart girl, and chances are that she would be able to solve this herself. However, he knew that she usually needed someone to talk to and vocally tell her problem before the pieces fell into place. This problem though seemed to be a particularly difficult one if she was having trouble explaining her problem.

"It had started off as…concern. When I had seen the numerous scars on her body…I saw a glimpse of what sort of lifestyle she leads. But…I had an interesting reaction…I felt…an attraction towards Samus…or rather…when I realized that she was nude and had a full view of her body…it was…this is embarrassing to say but…I believe I wished to bed her." Link nearly choked on his drink. It took him a moment that Zelda had said that she wished to sleep with Samus. He gave her both an incredulous look, and an indication to continue. Despite the surprise, he had a feeling that this was running a lot deeper than he was expecting or was prepared for. And by some extension, he had a feeling that if his guess was right, this was going to give Zelda quite a shock as well.

"Eventually I had managed to put off my…sexual desires," Zelda resumed, her face beet red from her sudden confession. "But…in its place, there is this…strong concern towards her. I keep wondering…what kind of pains is she carrying in her heart…whether or not she's even able to find moments of peace…if she's actually alright despite her healthy appearance…if she has anyone to turn to…" Link noticed how she had stated that last line with disdain. It was almost as if she hated the idea if Samus had a special someone that she could turn to. The more he listened, the more he realized that this was bee lining straight for what he had guessed.

"And…on that note…I have found that I feel extremely disturbed…the idea that…Samus being with another man or woman…it bothers me deeply. The Triforce seems to react to such thoughts as well…I'm not sure what to make of what I'm feeling right now…it's almost as if there's an emotion within me that I've never seen or experienced…I…cannot seem to be able to identify it…"

Link set down his cup and let out a sigh and gathered his thoughts. This time he would have to speak. It was what he had thought. She had fallen for the huntress; how hard though he wasn't sure. While he had no problems with who the princess fell for, the fact she found it here, and it was with Samus surprised him.

"Princess," he sighed, "this is quite a problem…"

"I agree," Zelda said. "What do you make of the problem?"

Link stared at her for some time, contemplating. He could right this very moment tell her the reason of her feelings. However, he wasn't sure how it would affect her. While the idea that she had fallen for a woman wouldn't bother her, it may affect how she fought tomorrow especially since her partner was the one whom her heart had been captured by. He spent a few minutes debating this. Knowing that his Triforce could offer very little guidance, he made sure that the answer he would give the princess would be the correct one. She was one of his dearest friends, and he wanted to be sure that she was happy. His thoughts eventually led him to his decision. For her own good, he felt that this was one answer that he must give.

"It's not something I can help," he firmly answered. "This is one question I feel you need to figure out yourself."

"Link?" she asked, giving her a surprised and questioning stare.

"I know the answer," he said, placing his dishes on his tray. "However, it isn't my place to answer this question. Think deeply on this matter. I'm sorry, but I cannot help you on this."

"It's alright," Zelda sighed, disappointment evident on her face. "I just want this resolved before tomorrow as so that I can compete tomorrow with a clear mind. I do not wish to burden Samus because I have unresolved issues."

"Trust me, you both are better off with this unresolved, until after," Link explained, picking up his tray. Giving her an encouraging smile, he politely nodded towards the princess and took his leave.

Sighing discontented, Zelda got up from the table and headed towards the elevator. She hadn't a clue as to what exactly Link was referring to. Although she knew that he had his reasons for withholding his answer, the nagging feeling just wouldn't leave her. She wanted to know what plagued her mind, but it seemed that it was wrought with questions and riddles that she just couldn't discern. It bothered her greatly. She just wanted answers, but it seemed that they would not be coming; at least not tonight.

"It seems that there are some things one must learn for oneself," Zelda sighed. Walking into her room, she quickly changed into her sleeping gown and headed to the roof. Hopefully, the night air would be able to help her clear her mind of the day, and allow her to sleep peacefully. She would ponder on it more when the tournament was over, and when she was home.

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"You ready for this?" Samus asked her partner. Zelda simply nodded in response, maintaining a meditative posture. The tournament was well underway already, but they weren't due to compete for another little while. For the duration of their wait, they were taken to a private waiting room where all the competitors quietly waited with their partners until it was their turn to fight. However, their match was scheduled for the afternoon, so they were allowed to leave their waiting room and head out for lunch, but were guided out on the reason that they were not to know who their opponent was.

Opening up her stun-gun, Samus made sure that it was properly configured and that everything was in working order. Entering one of these competitions without her armour for the first time, she needed to make sure that everything was ready and in good working order, that a backup plan was at the ready should something go wrong. Assured that her gear was ready, she turned her attention over towards the Hylian princess.

The last three days had been a healthy workout for her, but it also brought on an interesting problem. There was a problem that was nagging her, and it stood out in the forefront of her mind. No matter what she did, she just couldn't get rid of it. She did things throughout all this time that had helped her ignore the nuisance, but by the end of each day it would return again and continue to plague her mind. No matter what she did, it would just stay there. She thought about bringing it up to Zelda, but every time she tried, or the thought even crossed her mind, she became increasingly nervous and would back down from the idea. Sometimes she wished that her life could just be back on the straight and narrow as it used to be. Unfortunately, she felt that it wouldn't be like that for a long time.

Glancing over towards the TV, she watched as Kirby and Meta Knight take on Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. Both teams were doing decently, but she could see which the better team was. Although the two apes coordinated well and could read one another's moves like a book, she could see that Kirby and Meta Knight were doing it better; a lot better. It was clear that Meta Knight was a skilled tactician and trainer as she watched the two of them barrage the heralds of Kong Country with a magnificent display of swordplay and strategy. Despite Kirby's seemingly childish nature, it was clear that underneath all that was an intelligent being who could display an impressive show of skill and ability when he needed to, or possibly wanted to.

All too soon, the two easily overpowered the primates bringing the match to an end. Going through her mind, she went through the various pairings that she had seen so far, and who had won: Fox and Flaco who defeated Ness and Lucas, Ike and Marth narrowly defeating Link and Toon Link in an incredible display of swordsmanship, and now Kirby and Meta Knight who had just defeated Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. With that in mind, she knew who their opponents were: Mario and Luigi, the infamous Mario Brothers. They were a tricky pair; that much was clear. The fact they were brothers only made it that much harder. She only hoped their training would be able to give them some sort of edge fighting against the two and the fact the two of them were virtual unknowns.

"C'mon," said Samus when she noticed the two teleport pads that would take them to the ring. "You ready?"

"Let us show them our true power," said Zelda. The two of them shared a confident smile, and stepped onto the pad together. Momentarily engulfed in white light, the two of them calmly waited as their vision slowly faded as they found themselves in the middle of a simple dirt ring, where standing opposite of them were Mario and Luigi.

Glancing around, Samus couldn't help but smirk at the look of surprise and confusion among the crowd, and the competitors who were now sitting in the stands. Even Mario and Luigi were staring at her and Zelda, awestruck and dumbfounded. It was clear nobody was expecting this. Their trump card was played. Now it was time to see if they would reap the benefits of their surprise.

"Let's do this," Samus muttered, switching her stun-gun into its whip form. Stepping up, she ignited the blade and twirled it a few times in anticipation for the start of the match. Their resolve set, they would show that they were a force to be reckoned with. Nobody would stand in their way for what would be their path to victory. They would win.

"GO!"

Sprinting forward, Samus immediately felt heat rushing alongside her in her made dash towards the brothers. With Din's Fire in line with her and her whip held out ready to deploy, she surged forward to attack. Her assault was immediately impeded with a barrage of fire, but didn't let it stop her. Weaving in and out of the attacks, she charged straight for the brothers, aware that Luigi was preparing his own counter assault. At the last moment, Samus rolled to her left just as Luigi lunged forward.

From behind, Zelda released the spell and watched it violently explode in Luigi's face, sending him flying back from the shock of the explosion. Wasting no time, she quickly teleported straight over towards Mario catching him in a headlock from behind with her back against his, and then immediately enhanced her strength and threw him over her shoulder, throwing him straight towards Samus.

Throwing out the whip, she quickly wrapped it around Mario and swung down, slamming him hard into the ground. Reeling him in, she threw a hard punch straight into the dazed man's nose, sending him flying back from the force of it. Turning around, she saw the familiar flash of crystal as Zelda had immediately threw up a shield narrowly repelling Luigi's counterattack. Throwing her whip out again this time catching Luigi, she pulled hard dragging him away from Zelda and quickly threw him into his brother, tangling them in a mess of limbs.

Dropping the shield, Zelda quickly charged up another fireball and threw it straight towards the brothers, with Samus quickly following it from behind. Watching the brothers dodge it, she quickly regained control of the spell, stopping it cold and redirected towards Luigi. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Samus momentarily wrestle with Mario and having to drop her gun for a moment before throwing him over her shoulder. She could be brutal at times, but quickly pushed the thought out of her mind. Her resolve set, she exerted her will upon it further and increased its speed before detonating it directly behind Luigi and watched as he was sent skidding across the dirt on his front, with the back of his clothes burned, and his hair singed.

Zelda watched as Luigi struggled to get up. To her surprise, she began to walk towards her, albeit awkwardly from his injuries from the fight. Wasting no time, she quickly rushed up and threw a kick to his face before grabbing him and threw his smaller body away from her. Using her magic, she quickly lifted him up, and threw him straight into his brother's back who had been squaring off with Samus.

Sidestepping, she allowed the brothers to pass her as they landed in a crumpled mess. Feeling Zelda teleporting next to her, the two of them stepped up towards the weakened and battered brothers as they struggled to get back on their feet.

Stun-gun raised, Samus gave them a pointed look and said, "Do you give?"

The brothers looked at one another a moment before pulling out a white cloth from underneath their overalls and threw it in the air, declaring their surrender. Almost immediately, the crowd erupted in cheer of their victory as the MC declared their victory against the brothers.

Zelda turned to her partner to congratulate their victory, only to find her voice caught in her throat. In the name of all that was good, she bore witness to something she didn't believe that she would ever see: Samus smiling. It wasn't the usual smirking or just amused smile she often wore. For the first time, she was seeing Samus smiling in joy. She was elated to see Samus looking like this. Her eyes twinkled in a manner only seen among those who had accomplished something one was proud of; something that they had achieved with their own bare hands. That was what she was seeing in Samus's eyes.

She couldn't believe it. They were cheering for her. Even her competitors, they were applauding in congratulations to her. They were cheering, chanting her name. Her chest swelled in happiness, proud of what she had accomplished. She had defeated her opponents in a quick, proficient manner, and showed that even without her armour, she was still a power house, that she was a force not to be taken lightly. She had shown them what she was made of.

"We did it," said Zelda, grasping Samus's shoulder. "And…you can see: you are powerful and respectable, with, or without your armour."

"Yeah…" Samus sighed, the bright smile having yet to leave her face. This was the sweet taste of victory. She would savour it.

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"Zelda-hime!" a voice called out as Samus and Zelda walked out of the stadium for the night. Looking behind, the two of them watched Marth quickly approached the two of them.

"A moment of your time, Zelda-hime," he requested.

Samus suddenly felt something flare in her chest the moment the prince had approached Zelda. Within, she felt this strong burning desire, a need of some sort to hold Zelda protectively, and let him know that she wouldn't let him take her without a fight, let him know that he was touching something off-limits, and that he'd best keep his distance if didn't want to get hurt. That feeling raged through her heart as she watched Zelda and Marth step aside and quietly talked. Her fists clenched tightly as she struggled to keep the rage inside. However, for the life of her, she couldn't figure out what was the cause of this rage was, or be able to identify it. All she knew was that the moment Marth wanted to speak to Zelda alone, her anger skyrocketed and now she wanted nothing better than to punch his lights out.

"Ja, I will see you in a while," said Marth, bowing lightly towards Zelda before walking off, giving Samus a pilot nod as he passed.

"What was that about," Samus asked neutrally, keeping steady rein on the emotions that bubbled within.

"Prince Marth has asked that I accompany him for dinner," Zelda answered; unaware of the struggle within, or the fact she had just added fuel to the fire. With her eyes glued straight to the front, she was unaware of the minute changes that were present in Samus's stride.

"I see," she flatly stated, feeling a seething rage ready to ignite within and erupt with the might of a volcano. "I suppose you accepted."

"Unfortunately, it was a 'formal' request," Zelda stated, emphasizing the word formal in a sarcastic manner. "It is clear he sees me as a prospective queen."

"What?!" Samus sputtered, nearly stumbling in her step, and her anger momentarily forgotten. "So what…this is one of those dinner meetings to see if you two are compatible?"

"Of some sorts," Zelda replied. "It is more like an exchange of information of our kingdom's strength, and of each other. Depending on the results of this 'information gathering session', Prince Marth may attempt to court me and will either attempt to obtain my throne, or ask for my hand in marriage and become queen of his world."

"But…wouldn't that mean that he'd have to take your throne, considering you are the only royalty on your world?" Samus asked.

"That is the issue," said Zelda, turning her attention towards Samus. "It is a prospect…I am not permitting. If he attempts, I will simply turn him down. His attempts for my hand and heart will prove fruitless. I shall not submit. It would only bode problems for my world, especially if my people of Hyrule do not approve of their prospective king."

"Very true," Samus agreed, feeling the anger boil down. It was there, but no longer was it bothering her. The fact that Zelda would outright reject any further attempts beyond tonight lifted this heavy weight she just realized that had been on her chest. It was a strange feeling. She was unsure of what to make of it, but put it aside for some other time to think about.

"Guess it's the bar tonight," Samus remarked.

"I fail to see the amusement of such establishments," said Zelda, commenting on her dislike of establishments.

"What makes you say that?" Samus asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

"I have…heard stories of such establishments from the various guards in my court," said Zelda. "They often speak of fights, drunken antics, and women they find and bed there, half of them in drunken stupors that they do not even remember they had bedded the woman they wake up next to."

"Oh…" said Samus. "Well…it's clear to me…I will have to show you what a real pub is all about." Zelda gave a look that questioned Samus's sanity, and her clear dislike of the idea. The very idea that Samus wanted to go to a bar and take her along was utter madness to her.

"I'd rather not," said Zelda.

"Trust me," Samus sighed, wrapping an arm around Zelda, "you will enjoy it. I've been looking around, and I know a couple establishments here that serve good food, and have good crowds."

"And how can you say this with such confidence, coming from one who doesn't explore the city?" Zelda asked, raising a delicate eyebrow in curiosity.

"Simple: I drop my armour in alleyways and then go around town during the few short times I feel like hitting a bar," Samus simply answered. "I promise you, you'll like it."

"I see…" said Zelda. Although the idea that she was going to a bar still bothered her, the fact that she was with Samus relieved her greatly; a lot more than she had expected. Just what was it that nagged her? She still couldn't figure it out. Just what was it that Link knew that he wanted her to find out?

"So, it's been decided," Samus declared, her arm still wrapped around Zelda. "Tomorrow…actually…scratch that, to celebrate our victory in the doubles, we will hit the bar!"

"If you say so," Zelda sighed, blushing a bit when she realized the sudden close contact between the two of them.

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"Here's to loneliness," Samus sighed, downing her 3rd glass of beer for the night. Having finished her meal already, Samus had opted just to sit outside alone and watched the local traffic pass by her. She watched as vehicles flew by while people went to and fro around the city, each and every last one of them minding their own business as they were going about their own personal agendas. And around her, couples walked hand-in-hand talking amiably between one another enjoying the evening as they went about their dates. That particular thought hit a sore spot.

Letting out a sigh, Samus realized how much she appreciated company, even if she was in the company of just one person, she saw how disturbing it was to have spent that much time of her life alone. It wasn't even a day, and she felt uncomfortable in this sort of situation being alone without someone to talk to. And now that she was back in this situation, she wondered how she had been able to deal with the loneliness in the first place.

"Evening," a gruff voice suddenly greeted her. Glancing up, Samus watched Snake sit himself down in the seat across from her, a beer in hand with a cigarette in his mouth. "What's a pretty lady like you doing here by yourself?"

"Get lost Snake," Samus mumbled, taking another swig of beer.

"Aww, don't be a spoilsport Samus," said Snake, tapping some of the ash into an ashtray. "You and Zelda were quite impressive today. I wasn't expecting you two to pull off something THAT exciting today."

"Is there a reason you want to see me, or are you just hitting on me?" Samus asked, not particularly in the mood for Snake's antics.

"Quote the cold one you are," Snake stated, unfazed by her rather sour demeanour.

"And you're irritating me," Samus muttered. Reaching over, she grasped the cigarette in Snake's mouth and dropped it next to her foot where she promptly put it out all the while imagining that it was a particular part of Snake's anatomy.

"Ooo…a lady with things on her mind," Snake commented, taking a swig of his own beer. "Care to talk about it?"

"What is there to talk about with you?" Samus asked, wondering why he was still in front of her.

"No need for harsh words Samus," said Snake. "Just asking a few questions. You seem to be one who has a conflict of some sort on your mind."

"The only 'conflict' I have right now, is the urge to get up from this seat and strangle you and throw your corpse onto the street," she growled, clearly displaying her irritation.

"Then why aren't you celebrating your debut match with Zelda?" he quickly countered. He inwardly smirked the moment Samus failed to respond to his question. Although her expression was unreadable, her eyes displayed all that he needed to know. Something about Zelda's lack of presence was bothering her. With a little prodding and some choice words, he'll probably be able to extract the answer he wanted.

"Had a fight perhaps? A disagreement?"

"No, no," Samus sighed, leaning against her seat. "She was formally asked by Marth to dinner. It was some official request she couldn't turn down."

"I see." He had a funny hunch of what was wrong now. The way she talked sounded quite forlorn, almost depressed from the fact she was alone. Then there was the fact that when she mentioned the Altean prince's name, it was stated with the utmost disdain. At the rate this particular conversation was going, he had a feeling that he may or may not be having additional conversations with Samus.

"Sounds like you don't like the idea of her and Marth together," he commented.

"The hell you talking about?" Samus snapped quickly. "I don't like him. Of course I don't like her being with someone I don't like."

"Sounds a bit selfish," he remarked. "I'm sure it's a friendly dinner between a prince and princess. I'm sure that if she doesn't want to, she'll refuse seeing him further. Although…it seems to me that you want her all to herself."

Samus gave him a pointed stare, clearly irritating with what he was talking about. "You're starting to piss me off Snake. Do you have any other business with me? Otherwise, fuck off."

"Wow, frosty," Snake chuckled. Picking up his beer, he chucked down a fair amount of it before placing it back down on the table. It was quite clear to him now. Her sudden hostility was most likely a subconscious reaction to her questions, most likely because it knew she wasn't ready to fully experience what she was feeling. Despite knowing that he would most likely not see it, he could already imagine the look of understanding dawn on her face when she finally figured it out, and realized what her subconscious was protecting her from. He had a feeling that when that day came, there will be some interesting developments in the local media, and among the other competitors.

"I'll take my leave then," he stated, getting up from his seat. "Enjoy your evening, Miss Brawler of Brawlers." He quickly disappeared into the crowd before Samus could even say anything, leaving her to simply stare at the point she lost sight of him, glowering at his sudden intrusion into what had started off as a quiet evening. Even if it was a bit depressing from the fact that she was alone, it had been a quiet one.

"What the hell was he trying to get at?" she muttered, shaking the conversation clear of her mind and asking for her tab. There was no point dwelling on what most likely was a ruse on Snake's part.

"Tomorrow's going to be an interesting day," Samus smirked, dropping off her bill and some tip on the tray before walking out. Tomorrow, she would find out who she and Zelda would fight for the semi-finals, and then the finals the following day. Going over the last little while, she quickly tallied up how long she had been here. She had met Zelda on her fifth day staying, which incidentally had resulted her in staying a lot longer than she had expecting. She quickly came to an immediate halt in her step when she realized something.

"Today was the day she was supposed to go home," she muttered. "Damn it all." Resuming her path home, she felt her mood take a nose dive as she realized that Zelda would go home after this tournament was over.

"I guess our celebration will also be a farewell party."


	8. Chapter 8

**My Dream, My Life**

**Chapter VIII**

**Author Note: It's not one of my better chapters, but I hope you enjoy this anyways. Please if you have any comments, especially about the fight scenes, please leave a comment. I'm always looking for ways to improve how I write out combat scenes. They don't seem as exciting as I want them to be for some odd reason; at least in my opinion.**

"Good morning Samus," Zelda greeted, watching her partner walk out of the elevator with her duffel slung over her shoulder.

"Mornin'," Samus greeted back, albeit lethargically.

"What's wrong?" Zelda asked, taken aback by Samus's disheartening greeting.

"Nothing really," she sighed as the two made their way towards the stadium, "except the fact that you're going home after all this."

"Oh…so you've realized as well," she answered in return. "I hadn't realized when the tournament was until the day before. Suffice it to say, I am going overtime."

"Yeah."

"You seem extremely disappointed," she observed, seeing the huntress walking a bit sluggishly.

"Wouldn't you if your first real friend would be leaving you…and you probably wouldn't see her for another year?" Samus asked back. Although not one to cry about it, she felt it eating her up inside. Soon, it would be another tick life would add to her growing list of scars and pains she had to deal with. She hated it. The smartest thing she could have done was just ignore her in the first place. However, she was already in too deep. It would probably only hurt her more if she denied this.

"True…very true," Zelda responded. "Despite that," she brightly started, taking Samus's hand in hers, "we still have today to enjoy. Let's make the most of them between us, and my friends."

"You seem awfully bright about this," Samus remarked, taken aback somewhat from her sudden mood change and the fact she was holding her hand.

"There would be no point to dwell on what is unavoidable," Zelda sagely stated, giving Samus's hand an assuring squeeze. "Our best recourse, would be to give the upcoming matches our best, show them who we are, and then celebrate our victory tonight. Besides, I do plan to return next year, and I expect to see you next year."

"Uh…yeah…sure," Samus muttered, a bit surprised at Zelda's enthusiasm.

"Oh come now Samus don't dwell on things beyond your control," Zelda stated jovially. "It'll only make things be blown out of proportions. Now come, we have a tournament to win." Samus couldn't help but smile a bit. She always seemed to have a smile on her face which never faltered. She had yet to show any emotions besides being neutral or in a good mood. While compared to herself, who exuded sadness, anger, and depression. To be honest with herself, she envied how Zelda was able to carry herself around like that. She wondered if she would be able to actually be like her one day, and live a life where she could just smile brightly like her, and be happy.

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"I see we're first," Samus commented while she and Zelda underwent their warm-up stretches.

"Who are our opponents?" Zelda asked.

"Well, well, well, it looks like the Altean Prince and the Crimea General are our opponents," Samus sneered, a confident smirk plastered all over her face.

"Then we'd best be careful," said Zelda. "They're swordsmanship skills may vary, but together they are a powerful force."

"Oh we'll show them what a powerful force really is," Samus confidently stated, cracking her knuckles in the process. "We'll destroy them, or my name isn't Samus."

"Do not let your confidence get to your head Samus," Zelda chided, sitting down on a bench and entered a meditative position. "Like you've taught me, we must enter battle calm and clear of conflict. Only then will our teamwork will prove effective, and victory will be within our grasp. Grasp onto victory, but do not take your eye off them, lest they take that victory from under our noses."

"I see our roles have turned," Samus joked, leaning against one of the lockers. "When we first started to prep for this tournament, you had been learning from me, but now you're the one preaching all this teacher-like stuff."

"Sometimes, it takes the reminder of a student, to remind the teacher of her role," Zelda answered, finding that she wasn't able to enter an appropriate meditative state. But despite that, this light-hearted banter was enough to clear her mind and have a bit of fun with Samus before they walked onto the stage.

"Never had that happen with my own teachers," Samus mused. "Then again…I was a kid. What did I know back then?"

"Not always," Zelda answered back. "There were occasions I had to correct my mother and instructors when I grew up. It was just minor things, but regardless, they had made the error. Of course some of them disputed with me, but I was usually the one in the right."

"A bit haughty isn't that?" Samus cheekily commented.

"Perhaps," said Zelda, not denying the accusation. "However, I am an above average princess, am I not?"

"True, very true," Samus chuckled, pushing herself off from the locker when she saw the platform appeared before them. "Let's kick some ass."

"Same opener?" she asked.

"Same opener," she responded. "They'll never know what hit them."

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"LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, WELCOME TO DAY TWO OF OUR DOUBLES TOURNAMENT!" the announcer boomed to the eager crowd. "YOU HAVE SEEN WHAT THE TEAMS HAD TO OFFER, AND WHAT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF. BY THE END OF THE DAY, WE WILL BE DECLARING OUR CHAMPION TEAMS!

"NOW LET ME REMIND YOU OUR TEAMS ARE, FOR THOSE WHO HAVE FORGOTTEN. WE HAVE SAMUS ARAN AND ZELDA FORMING OUR FEMME FATALE TEAM! THEN THERE'S PRINCE MARTH AND GENERAL IKE OUR SWORDSMEN DUO! HAILING FROM STAR FOX SQUADRON, WE HAVE FOX McCLOUD AND FALCO LOMBARDI! AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, FROM DREAMLAND, WE HAVE KIRBY AND META KNIGHT!"

Following the announcement of the competitors, the crowd broke into uproar as fans cheered for their favourite teams, while waving the flags of their home worlds or of the groups the competitors were associated with. Everywhere, banners were set up, or held by fans, as they all cheered for the one they supported. In various corners, massed supporters of a particular pair gathered and showed their support chanting the names of their heroes, sporting colours of their idol and holding up banners with their names scribbled across in various designs, colours, and patterns.

"AND NOW LETS BEGIN THE SEMI-FINALS! WE'VE RANDOMIZED OUR PAIRINGS, AND OUR RESULTS ARE AS SUCH: SAMUS AND ZELDA V.S. MARTH AND IKE! AND FOX AND FALCO V.S. KIRBY AND METAKNIGHT!

"AND NOW, LET US BEGIN ROUND ONE!"

Immediately, four teleport platforms appeared as Samus, Zelda, Ike, and Marth walked on and stood across from one another. Around them, the crowd cheered with greater enthusiasm at the sight of their champion stepping on. Around them, the shrill cries of females spiked to greater levels cheering for the handsome prince and general, while others cheered for the princess and huntress whom many felt were representing females in this world of male-dominated competitors.

"Try not to have too much fun," Zelda joked.

"I'll try," Samus answered in-kind.

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"GO!"

The stadium immediately exploded in a cloud of dust. Charging forward, Ike and Marth ran neck-in-neck straight forward, while across from them, Samus sallied on forward with a fireball flying straight behind her.

"Looks like they're opening with the same move," Ike commented.

"Be wary," Marth warned. "It may be a ruse."

Samus smirked. She could tell they were on to them, but they were in for a rude surprise. Increasing her speed, Samus immediately leaped over the two of them. In midair, she watched as the two of them attempt to break formation. However, before they could so much as take a few steps, Zelda had detonated the ball unleashing a fiery shockwave, catching the two of them in its raging inferno. Landing on her feet, she charged straight towards Marth and extended her whip. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Zelda immediately cast a binding spell and held Ike down, leaving her free to deal with the Altean prince. It was the perfect to vent some frustration.

She quickly lashed out her whip, only for the prince to catch it with his blade and immediately drew her in and struck her hard in the face, sending her flying back. Undeterred, she quickly recovered ran forward and reignited her whip and quickly reconfigured it to a more solid configuration, effectively creating a sword for herself. Soon, she and Marth entered hand-to-hand combat in a brilliant display of power, skill, and grace.

On the other side, Zelda quickly used her magic and raised large chunks of earth and prepared to propel them straight on towards Marth. Out of the corner of her eye, she realized that her binding spell was quickly losing its effectiveness, forcing her to redirect her attack towards Ike. Unfortunately, she had not realized how strong Ike really was, and hoped that she wouldn't have to pay for it too badly. With the last of the chunks gathered, she began to throw them one at a time straight on towards the general. By then, he had broken free and quickly hefted his weapon, Ragnell, and immediately began to destroy the chunks of rock one by one. Zelda watched in an impressive display of power and control as Ike made short work of what she had thrown at him.

Not to be outdone, Zelda quickly changed tactics and called upon her Shiek form. Knowing the time and distance between her and Ike required to transform, she knew that she only had a few precious moments to be able to enter hand-to-hand combat with Ike. Her only chance was that her speed would be able to get her into Ike's range and force him to defend himself. If that blade were to strike her down, Samus was finished. She watched as Ike dash forward, with his blade reared back to strike. The closer and closer he came, the more critical her timing needed to be. The distance rapidly closed as she felt the transformation nearing its completion.

Just a little longer.

"You're op-"

Before he could react, he felt something smash him hard in the face sending him tumbling back a few meters. Looking up, dressed in skin-tight battle clothes, he saw Shiek stand before him, ready for combat. Standing up, he looked watched her carefully, ready for any surprises that were to come his way. Unfortunately, their information on both Zelda and Samus was not complete. They had seen Samus fight plenty of times, but it had always been in her armour. The fact she fought without it had caught them by surprise, especially since her fighting style without the armour was completely different from what they had been expecting. As for Zelda, the fact she could transform into Shiek made things incredibly hard to predict, along with the fact that she was using a mix of magic and hand-to-hand, instead of sticking purely to her magic like they had expected.

In this battle, patience was required. He needed Shiek to create an opening for him. The moment that opening came he would bring upon her doom, and turn his attention towards Samus.

"You're open," Shiek stated.

"What?" His answer came in the form of well placed needles imbedding themselves on pressure points along his back, rendering his arms numb and useless. He heard Ragnell fall onto the ground before he felt something grab him from behind before being throw back, slamming his head into the ground. The assault stopped for just a momentary flash before he felt himself being thrown again into the air before being lifted again by some unknown force. Dazed from the impact to his head, he couldn't make sense of what he was seeing, or what was happening to him. That unfortunately left him vulnerable, and unable to warn Marth of the danger that was about to befall them.

"SAMUS DROP!" Reacting, Samus immediately ducked underneath Marth's swing and dropped on all fours just as a blur of red and blue slammed into the Altean princess, knocking him off his feet and sending him flying towards the edge of the ring before coming to a stop in a tangled heap of limbs and robes. Unfortunately in that surprise attack, he had dropped his Falchion during impact.

Hefting Marth's weapon, Samus looked back to see Zelda calmly walk up to her, carrying Ragnell by means of a levitation spell. "That thing too heavy?"

"Quite so," Zelda answered. "He must possess incredible strength if he is able to wield such a weapon."

"No doubt," Samus commented, and calmly approached the two warriors who struggled to untangle themselves. "Same question as we asked the Mario Bros.: Do you give?" Samus waited a moment for the two warriors to quickly debate the proposition before Marth reluctantly submitted in defeat.

"THE WINNER IS, SAMUS AND ZELDA!" the announcer declared moments after. Immediately the crowd exploded in a massive array of cheering, clapping, and congratulations for the two.

"It seems we have done it again," Zelda commented, waving towards the crowd.

"It seems we have," Samus smirked, stabbing the Falchion down into the ground in front of Marth.

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"I propose a toast to Samus and Zelda for their two victories, and to wish them luck for tonight's match," Pit declared, raising his glass of juice. Others quickly followed suit and raised their own glasses and looked expectantly towards Zelda and Samus who had yet to raise their own glasses. The two eventually raised their own glasses. Around the two, Link, Toon Link, Pit, Fox, Falco, Krystal, and Pikachu were gathered around, at Zelda's behest. Downing their drinks, the eight of them quietly talked amongst one another amiably, enjoying the company of one another regaling each other of stories that happened in their own worlds.

"Quite an impressive display today," Fox commented towards the two.

"Thank you," Zelda answered, nodding politely, while Samus nodded in response. "And I am sorry that you had failed to reach the finals."

"It's a disappointment, but those two deserve it just as much as we would have if we won," Fox sighed. "The better team won today. Of course now you two will be the ones who have to take them on tonight." Zelda simply nodded in response, her attention focused on her meal over the conversation.

Samus couldn't help but feel somewhat uncomfortable. These people were Zelda's friends. Although these people respected her, the idea of being friends with these people was somewhat foreign to her. Unlike Zelda, there wasn't anything that interested her. She had seen them all before. They were some of the tougher competitors that this place had to offer, but the idea of being friends with them eluded her. She didn't even know what to say. At present, all she did was either nod or grunt whenever something was said to her. She wasn't even sure of where to start.

A like poke to her thigh drew her attention to her right to see Pikachu looking up at her curiously, while his ears twitched every so often in a rather cute manner. "Yes?" she asked, unsure of what to do.

"Pet him," Zelda quietly answered.

"Huh?"

"He wants you to pet him," Zelda simply answered, and continued to eat her food.

Glancing back towards the mouse-like creature, Samus tentatively reached out and gently petted him, earning an approving squeal from him. Having already finished his food, he jumped out from his seat and quickly climbed up onto Samus's shoulder. For a moment, she regretted changing out of her Zero Suit in exchange for her more comfortable two-piece set for fear that his claws would dig into her skin. However, she noticed that he had a fairly light grip. It was strong enough that he would stay on, but not so much that he ended up clawing into her arm, to her surprise. Samus laughed nervously as Pikachu nuzzled against the side of her head. It felt extremely awkward for her to have something sitting on her shoulder.

"He seems to like you," Falco commented. "A bit rare, but nothing too surprising."

"What do you mean?" Samus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Normally anyone who would attempt to pet him would receive a nasty shock," Falco explained as he wiped a bit of food off his beak. "But considering that he willingly asked you to pet him, and then perch up on your shoulder like that, it shows that he likes you, and in most cases asking you to be his friend. At least that's what Red says."

"I see," Samus muttered, glancing over towards Pikachu. Seeing that he wasn't going to do anything but stay comfortably perched on her shoulder, she turned her attention back towards her meal.

"Samus, why did you hide yourself in your armour until now?" Pit asked, receiving a pointed stare from Samus, and a hand placed on his shoulder from Link who shook his head, indicating that it wasn't an appropriate time to ask such a question.

"Oh…I apologize for my rudeness," Pit immediately apologized. "I did not mean to intrude on something personal."

"S'alright," Samus sighed, taking a few breaths to calm down. "Just…try to avoid those sorts of subjects."

"I will try," said Pit, glad that he avoided offending the huntress.

"That was good of you Samus," Zelda quietly whispered so only Samus could only hear. "At least you tried to be courteous with Pit."

"Rather not make an enemy if I can help it, right?" Samus answered back, smiling a bit towards Zelda. She simply giggled a bit at the remark before returning to her food.

"So…this is the great Samus Aran of the Galactic Federation," a voice sneered from behind her.

Turning around, she felt the mood immediately turn sour the moment she recognized who it was that stood behind her. Standing there with a smug expression stood Wolf O'Donnell. Fox, Falco, and Krystal quickly rose from their seats and glared at him, weapons ready to be drawn of necessary.

"The hell do you want?" Samus calmly inquired, preparing to activate her battle armour if necessary.

"I just came to see the great Samus Aran herself with my own two eyes," he sighed, as if it was the furthest thing from his mind. "They say that hidden underneath that armour was a woman of unparallel beauty. However, I must say that I've hit a jackpot: I see three women of unparallel beauty." His eyes travelled momentarily to Zelda and Krystal before turning his attention back towards Samus; his eyes traced her entire body from head to toe as he watched her stand up. "I must say Samus, for a huntress, you sure don't look like one."

"What did you say?" Krystal hissed, feeling that jab as an insult to all female fighters out there.

"Well look at her bulky power suit, I could have sword she'd be a lot…bigger in muscle size," Wolf explained, chuckling a bit at Krystal's furious expression. "Look at her! She's a twig. It makes me wonder how the hell she survived the last two rounds of this tournament."

"Then what does that make me and Zelda?" the now angered vixen stated, ready to leap over the table and throttle the audacious wolf.

"Zelda, she has her magic so she has an excuse," Wolf casually stated. "You…I seriously wonder how the heck you even joined Star Fox in the first place."

"Why you-" Krystal screamed as she leapt over the table only to be quickly grabbed by Samus, who also was holding Zelda back with her other arm.

"Wolf," she calmly stated, carefully reining in the boiling rage she felt just now. "You have until the count of three, before you face down three very angry women."

"1." Her body flashed as she began to activate her armour.

"2." Materialized, she let the vixen go and aimed her cannon straight at Wolf and began charging the gun.

"3."

"See ya." Immediately the wolf dashed clear away from the group before any of them could even react, much to everyone's displeasure.

Sighing in frustration, Samus dropped her armour, leaving her dressed in the two-piece bikini-like attire again. Sitting down, she took a glance down at her meal, before pushing it away. Unfortunately the incident had taken away her appetite.

"Charming fellow, isn't he?" Samus sarcastically stated, in her extreme displeasure. The others simply agreed, while Pikachu displayed his own feelings by sparking his cheeks. Fox on the other hand quickly got out of his seat and took Krystal into his arms and quietly comforted her.

"Such a troublesome fool," she muttered.

"He's an arrogant fool," Falco sighed, finishing the last bit of his lunch. "But in the end, he can be a powerful ally…when his interests are on the line."

"The shrewd life of mercenaries and bounty hunters alike," Samus sighed, before smirking somewhat. "However, know that if you piss off a woman, it just may very well be your last mistake."

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," Zelda sagely stated, finishing off her meal. "He was wise to leave. I fear he may not have walked away with any hope of leaving the hospital intact."

"No doubts there," Falco muttered, shuddering at the very thought of what three very angry women of their calibre would have done to Wolf had he pushed them a bit farther. More likely than not, he'd be a heap on the ground groaning in extreme pain, with a few missing appendages; a few of them non-replaceable.

Toon Link and Link were silent this entire time; however, their expressions indicated that they also disapproved of what Wolf did. Pit also wore a similar expression. However, they had wisely chosen to stay calm and simply be on standby the moment that Samus, Zelda, and Krystal began to go overboard. Although they wanted to deck Wolf as well, the fact he had directed his insults towards the three females was enough for them to hold back. There was no need for them to get caught in the fray and suffer unnecessary and unwanted friendly fire.

"Anyways, how about we go around the city for some time and pass the time away," Zelda suggested, hoping to break the tension that had settled over them when Wolf had made his appearance.

"Doesn't sound like a bad idea," said Fox. "I'm sure we could use the distraction."

"But where would we go?" Pit asked. "Despite the fact that this place has a fair amount of attractions and entertainment, this city was built solely around the Smash events. I'm not sure if there would be a place that all of us could agree on, especially with all of us hailing from different worlds."

"Then lets hit the hot springs," Samus suggested.

"The what?" Pit asked, caught by surprise by Samus's statement.

"The hot springs on Smash Mountain," Samus clarified. "I'm sure that we could all use the chance to relax in some hot water, and relax our muscles, if even for a few hours. Besides, it would also help me and Zelda, considering our match later tonight." Everyone looked at one another for a few minutes before all of them agreed. "However, there's the issue of transport…"

"Or we can take a Landmaster," Krystal offered.

"Not a bad idea," Samus muttered. "A driver, and then everyone else just hitches a ride on the tread coverings."

"Exactly," Krystal confirmed, winking towards the huntress. "And with its limited flight capabilities, we can avoid most of the traffic if we time the flying well."

"Well then, I suggest the best pilot pull this off, otherwise some people might not be able to hold on that well," said Samus.

"I could also teleport a few people to lighten the load," said Zelda.

"Will it affect you for tonight?" Samus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"If I limit my transport capacity to 4 others, excluding myself," she answered back.

"Hmm," Samus pondered. Glancing around, she quickly made a plan of action.

"Alright this is how it's going to work: both Links, myself, and Pikachu will get there via Zelda. Pit, with your flight capabilities, you will be given the exact location of the place, where you will meet us. I will also give directions for Krystal. We will all meet outside, and from there we will go about our intended plan of spending the afternoon in the springs. Any questions?"

"Spoken like a true commander," Falco joked, with Fox and Krystal snickering from behind.

"I have no qualms with this plan," said Pit. Link and Toon Link simply nodded in agreement.

"Then it's settled," said Samus. Materializing her arm cannon, she quickly pulled up the map data, and uploaded into Krystal's Landmaster through an uplink, and then scrawled down the map on a napkin for Pit to use.

"We'll see you there," said Samus, and stepped up to Zelda.

"Do not move," Zelda simply instructed as she began to cast the spell that would take them to the springs. With the location set, she immediately cast the spell enveloping the five of them in the mystical winds as it quickly transported them to the front of the springs. Glancing up towards the sky, she smiled somewhat as she could already see Pit high in the air flying straight towards them. Somehow, she felt that the afternoon would be an enjoyable one.


	9. Chapter 9

**My Life, My Dream**

**Chapter IX End Phase**

**Wow...it's been a while since I've updated. Well I hope you enjoy this update, enjoy the more Zelda-focused fighting that I have in store, and the overall chapter. And don't worry, this isn't the final chapter, but it does conclude one arc of this path that they walk.**

**Also, any errors I may have made are mine, and I claim responsibility for them, and will go back to them at a later time at my convenience when I'll edit it and such. **

"Now this is a way to spend the afternoon," Fox sighed, leaning back comfortably against the edge of the spring.

"Quite a place they have here," Falco commented having just stepped in after grooming himself. He tested the waters before entering in, taking a few moments to get used to the heat and relax in the water. "It's not often you find a hot spring and be able to use them; not with our line of work anyways."

"True, very true," Fox agreed, nodding along.

"It seems they are enjoying it," Zelda quietly commented to Samus. She, however, simply shrugged in response as she watched Pikachu happily float on its back in the water next to Toon Link was who doing the same thing.

"I am glad you showed me this place. The experience seems more…enjoyable in the company of friends."

"If you say so," Samus sighed. She didn't exactly know how to feel. She never thought that she'd be surrounded by this many people. It actually felt somewhat unnerving, especially since she didn't know any of them. The feeling from lunch still hadn't left her, and it continued to press on in her mind as the day continued on. Then she came to realize that she would most likely be with this people later tonight celebrating their victory, and saying their goodbyes.

"This is going to be an interesting day," she sighed.

"Why complain?" Zelda asked, raising an eyebrow. "Just take this experience in stride. Talk with one or two of them. There is no need to rush, and try to talk with all of them. It takes a while, but you will become used to their presence over time."

"Maybe," Samus sighed. "But I say we need to work on our strategy for tonight; Figure out how to deal with the fact that they're no higher than up to our knees." Samus looked over towards her battle partner to see her with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"That is an interesting point," Zelda mused. "That had not occurred to me until just now that we assume we are against people in our relative height class…it would most definitely be presumptuous of us to treat them as if they were the same height as us."

"Indeed," Samus agreed. "I don't think that they'll be an easy opponent. They are already strong fighters by themselves, but together I have a feeling that they are a lot stronger. On top of that, Metaknight has been training Kirby so I think that we may see them use hand-to-hand combat against us."

"A difficult opponent they are," Zelda agreed. "Their height gives them their advantage, along with the possibility that they can more than likely match you in speed. And although you could possibly match them one-on-one, it is not wise for you to enter hand-to-hand with both of them, especially if they both decide to employ their swords."

"What about you?" Samus asked. "How good are you with the sword?"

"I am trained in the use of a sword, however, I have yet to incorporate your training into my swordplay. If I am forced into a duel, I will fallback onto that style," Zelda answered.

Samus simply sighed. "May as well. At least you'd be on comfortable ground if you have to duel them." Zelda nodded in agreement to the statement. "Any other alternatives?"

"None that comes to mind," Zelda answered, somewhat vexed at the current situation. "It is clear that we are dealing with a rather…interesting enemy." Samus nodded in agreement. Kirby and Metaknight was an interesting combination.

"Well…they do both fly," Samus commented. "So they might use that to at least level with us…then there's Kirby's ability to inhale anything…do you think it's possible to actually get one of your fireballs in his mouth and detonate it?"

"It is possible," Zelda answered, pondering on the thought. "I cannot say for sure, due to the fact that Kirby would only do that if he needed to obtain its power. Most likely than not, it would be expelled back at us before I had a chance to let it explode inside him. But it is a possible strategy to consider."

"Metaknight's ability to fly is because of his wings, right?" Samus asked.

"Correct," Zelda replied.

"Hmm…then attacking his wings would be a bad idea," Samus mused. "It'll give him a speed and height advantage, but it'll allow him to fight level with us, and if we don't have to worry about them always staying on the ground, it would help."

"But we must consider that possibility that they will use their lower stature as a weapon against us. We must be prepared for that," Zelda pointed out. "We cannot overlook that, lest it becomes our downfall.

"Kirby's natural resilience to impacts and Metaknight's experience in the art of war and combat makes them extremely formidable. However, it is clear that while they are both experienced warriors, if we are able to eliminate Metaknight early, Kirby will have a difficult time defending himself. While it is clear he could take on all of us, Metaknight's leadership over him, and his knowledge and experience is what gives Kirby a part of his strength. He is still in essence a child, who is still learning and growing; for the most part. That is possibly his only weakness: his lack of knowledge and experience which could possibly lead him to making a costly mistake in battle."

"Sounds reasonable," said Samus after a moment of allowing what Zelda said process through her mind. "I don't see any other possible strategies, so I guess go for it."

"Then we are in agreement," Zelda declared. "Eliminate Metaknight as early as possible, and then engage Kirby."

"Just as long as we keep both of them in mind, however, we should be able to avoid getting blindsided by something they pull out of their sleeves," Samus added.

"Sounds like a serious conversation you guys are having." Looking up, the two of them watched Krystal walk up towards them and sit down across from them.

"Just simply strategising for our final battle," Zelda simply answered.

"Well good luck with that," Krystal offered in support.

"Thank you," Zelda accepted, while Samus simply nodded in response.

"So Samus, what exactly do you do?" Krystal asked, leaning against the rock that sat right in front of the other two, nearly shielding them from everyone else.

"Well…just what most bounty hunters do: collect bounties," she answered. "Occasionally, I do jobs for the Galactic Federation, but otherwise I just mostly get bounty hunting contracts and other such and fulfill them, get paid, and then go on. It's nothing really…"

"Nothing my tail," said Krystal. "You're famous! You're one of the best bounty hunters in the known universe; even back home!"

"I'm known even in the Lylat system?" Samus asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow.

"Quite well actually," Krystal confirmed. "Of course, you're only known by name. No one knows what you look like, with or without your armour, but the stories that come by go of a powerful bounty hunter, armed with a powerful suit of armour, who is known for hunting and destroying Space Pirates, crime lords, even creatures of unspeakable power that normal people couldn't kill. There are even stories that were starting to circulate that you were finally able to defeat the Great Poison of your part of the galaxy: Phazon."

"How the hell do you know of it?" Samus suddenly exclaimed, as the sudden rush of memorize of her experiences with Metroid Prime, and Dark Samus came to the forefront of her mind.

"Well…people from your part of the galaxy have been talking about it for the last year or so," Krystal said warily, not sure how Samus would take this piece of information. "We don't know much, except that it's mutagenic, and not something to be messed with."

"I see…" Samus sighed, not sure how to take this particular information. The topic about Phazon in general bothered her already, especially with her experiences of when she had to endure the affects of the Phazon radiation. The voice that screamed in her head, the constant need to constantly release the Phazon from her body so that it didn't destroy her body, the physical distortions it did to her body, it all stuck to the forefront of her mind.

"Samus?"

"Samus?"

"Samus, are you alright?"

"What?!" Quickly looking around, she quickly realized that everyone was staring at her strangely, as if she had done something peculiar and they were trying to figure out what exactly she was doing. "What…what are you staring at?"

"Krystal was trying to say something to you but you didn't respond," said Zelda, giving her a worried look. "You didn't answer for a while and…you looked somewhat disturbed, as if you were remembering something you'd rather forget; almost as if a nightmare had returned to haunt you."

"I'd…I'd rather not talk about that…" said Samus, hoping to stave off the issue.

"You…suffered from Phazon radiation didn't you?" Krystal asked, having sat down next to her without her notice and placed an assuring hand on her shoulder.

Samus didn't know what to say exactly. She had come to mostly get away and recover from her experiences against Dark Samus and what she had done to her during all this time, and to possibly forget it and put the memory to rest. Although hardly anyone saw her experience any pain, Dark Samus had tainted her soul, adding to the ever growing number of scars that adorned her, all acting as heavy reminders of the horrors life has put her through. The fact that Phazon was brought up had reopened that particular wound, bringing forth the memories of those experiences to bear as she struggled not to let it get to her and leave her in a state of bitterness and depression.

"How about…we drop the subject," Zelda wisely suggested, seeing the torment within her that she wanted to hide from the others.

"Yeah…sure…" Krystal accepted, but kept giving Samus a worried look. She looked almost like a wounded child who had suffered an incredibly disturbing trauma; one that she didn't want to either deal with, or didn't know to deal with. It was clear that it was eating her up, ever so slowly as it drove her mind to insanity. She didn't know the extent of this experience, but it must have had a serious affect on her if she suddenly dropped into this sullen mood.

"Let us move on to more pleasant subjects, shall we?" Zelda offered, hoping to brighten the mood.

"Yes, please," Samus sighed, slowly reburying the memory. Hell would have to freeze before she would allow that taint within her soul to ever rise again. Although the taint upon her body was gone, its pervasive influence never left her alone. It always silently gnawed at her, clawing away at her mind, whispering dark words of taint and destruction, always goading her to turn to the dark powers and allow her to be consumed. It was only her iron will and discipline that kept this particular voice at bay. It would be a long time before she would be able to silence the demons within that haunted her soul.

"Well…way to kill the mood," Krystal sadly muttered. She had hoped to possibly hear some stories of Samus's exploits but unfortunately she just hit something that shouldn't have been treading upon.

"Anyways, how about we discuss some of your exploits with Star Fox?" Zelda offered. At the very least, she wanted Samus to be somehow included in the conversation, even if the focus was no longer shifted onto her. A brooding Samus did not sit well with her.

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Slow deep breaths. A steady rate of slow deep breaths, Samus meditated on the bench. While her body had been cleansed and her muscles relaxed, her mind was still riled up from the mention of the poison. With her concentration compromised, she slowly refocused her center and worked to realign her mentality to that of a warrior. Everything was honed and sharpened, but now it needed to be focused. Nothing could be wasted. Nothing could be inefficient. She was a warrior, first and foremost. She would not go to battle such as this with a broken mind. She was taught better.

She had appreciated Zelda's earlier efforts. While it had bore little fruit, it allowed Samus to take her mind off of those memories, if only a little bit. But it was enough she didn't allow it to bother her during their activities. But it was now that she had to mentally prepare herself for the battle to come. Kirby and Metaknight were her opponents. She and Zelda both needed to be at their best if they were to stand a chance of obtaining victory. Only a warrior prepared will prevail. If she was not prepared, she would be their downfall. She will not fail, not after she had gone this far to reach this stage. Her pride wouldn't allow it.

Slow deep breathes. A steady rate of slow deep breathes, Samus meditated on the bench.

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The crowd roared in discord. Cheers for their favourite pairs battled and overlapped one another in unending battle for supremacy. It was a battle of who the bigger fan was and who the bigger supporter was and who the better team was. It was endless. It was loud. It was outrageous. It was the crowd of Smash Stadium. Everywhere people betted on who was going to win, with bets ranging from a few hundred units of currency to whole properties and such, where sharks circled the waters offering and collecting bets, offering odds that could both benefit or bankrupt their betters. It was a mess.

Above, Master Hand and Crazy Hand watched from their perches as the crowd continued to struggle in the sea of people placing bets and purchasing various food items before the match would start. The main event was to come, and people were waited with bated breath. They had come to see a show. It had been advertised as "Smasher's Femme Fatale, VS Dream Team" depicting two of the strongest female competitors squaring off against the smallest of the competitors. Both had displayed incredibly talent and power in their previous matches, all hinting towards a climatic show down between the two super powers. This was a show not to be missed.

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"This is it," Zelda murmured. Across from her, there stood the duo Metaknight and Kirby who stood ready for battle. Beside her, Samus nodded in response and primed her weapon. For the evening's match, Zelda had opted for a more practical choice of battle wear. Wearing a pair of trousers and a simple shirt, she donned on a set of basic armour, consisting of a breast plate, greaves, armlets, and a skirt plate. On her waist hung her personal sword, crafted of the finest metals of Hyrule, bedecked with gold and jewels.

Grasping the decorated hilt, she drew the blade, revealing a blade coated with great powers. Runes and scriptures decorated the length of the blade, inscribed within power beyond imagination. It radiated with an awesome power, seemingly to call for peace, be it through words or through battle; it was a weapon of great power that would be answered to.

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"Go!"

The pair dashed into action. It was their classic opening move. Samus led off as established in previous rounds of battle. It was now clear to everyone that they were expecting something else; so confident that they were surprised as the attack continued on forward towards Kirby. With her whip extended and Din's Fire along side her, she was ready for anything. Of course, Kirby's reaction was to open his mouth and inhale whatever the attack was. At the last possible moment, Samus leapt off in an angel landing behind the two and fired her weapon.

So concentrated on Samus attack that neither had time to react as the fireball impacted Metaknight from behind and exploded, sending him straight into Samus as a kick struck him dead on between the eyes. The resulting force of the attack threw him back a fair distance before he was able to regain his senses and recover into an upright position. However, his moment of laxity was short lived for warriors instincts immediately screamed of an impending attack from behind, that he found the tip of his opponent's blade just inches from piercing him in between the eyes when he turned to block.

Immediately a violent display of swordplay ensued. Grace and poise met belligerence and power in a powerful exchange of blades. Slash, parry, stab, dodge, counter, deflect, it was a continuous chain of events as Metaknight continued to batter at the princess while the Hylian royalty fended off his attacks with but flicks of her wrists or mere sidesteps, rending deadly attacks that could shatter bones into harmless swings that would leave but a mere cut where it to contact. Neither could obtain the higher ground, nor could they find a weakness in the other's attack. There was nothing to be found, nothing to be countered. Both were an iron wall of perfection that would stand beyond the test of time.

Power exploded from contact as each tried to overpower the other. No matter how much power Metaknight could muster, or how much skill Zelda could draw from the Triforce, neither summon enough to gain the upper hand. No ground was given, no ground was gained. Neither was ready to back down to their foe. The challenge had been made, and they would answer with as much skill and ferocity they could muster. Normally quiet individuals raged in a duel of epic power as each strike stressed the arena just a little more. The ground cracked and contorted under the stress. The ground beneath Samus's and Kirby's feet exploded from stress cutting off their battle, declaring that it would be a battle between the knight and princess that would decide who would walk away the victor.

Battle cries issued forth from them as they both sallied forward declaring their intent to destroy the other. Only one would walk away the victor.

Sweat drenched their bodies, muscles screamed in fatigue, their blood sang in pain, but they pressed on nonetheless. Nothing mattered save for the duel. A time honoured tradition between warriors of all types, neither would back down until one was dearly defeated. Until a winner was determined, they would continue to fight. They would give it their all until the other fell. Anything less would do their opponents dishonour and disrespect.

Around them, the crowd roared and roared. Waves of power pulsed and pulsed through the crown, subduing even some of the hardiest of them. Those who have never felt such powers felt themselves dwarfed under the extremes of the two fighters, shrinking from the unavoidable fear that either were capable of obliterated with but a single move. Others who could resist the power could only watch in awe at the display of power. This was what they had come for. This was what they had paid for. This was what they had betted on: the one who would be victorious in this duel of swordsmanship. This was a battle of epic battles. Who could reign supreme in this battle, would be the one that would be declared the winner.

Baffled, Samus could only watch from the edge of an ever growing crater. Inside, they battled and battled, blades flashing in the stadium light reflecting it for all to see, displaying the awesome might and power, displaying their superiority. Having taken advantage of the distraction the battle had caused, she had been able to subdue him fast enough with a fast enough beating to knock the child out cold for the rest of the match. But now here she was forced to watch from the sidelines as Samus battled it out against someone who was more than likely a superior foe. She was unsure of how Zelda was able to hold out on her own, but she knew that without a doubt that she must place her trust and faith in Zelda. She must trust her to bring out victory from the duel. They were partners. They were friends. Although she couldn't be with her physically, she knew that a part of her was already with her, fighting out this fight, this battle for epic supremacy.

She could feel it. She could hear it. She could see it. She could feel the eyes of the crowd watching it. She could hear their roars. She could see them in various states of uproar cheering for or against her.

She could feel her friends with her. She could hear them cheering for her, urging her on to grasp victory. She could see them watch her with pride and excitement.

She could feel Samus's presence on the ridge. She could hear her thoughts reaching to her, conveying her trust and belief she would come out victories. She could see her watching her in awe.

She could feel it. The friendship, the trust, it pervaded her thoughts, her very body. She could feel a part of Samus beside her, feeding her more and more power, urging her to go forward and win.

In a surge of power, she surged forward. Her cry echoed through the stadium. In a display of power, she sprung forward and struck. Her blade ploughed through the sword cracking it to Metaknight's horror. The time was now. The moment of weakness had come, and now was her time to strike. A punch flew out and impacted the knight, knocking him back. In a burst of magic, Din's Fire roared out towards him catching him in its fiery grasp. Heat scalded his body as the flames licked at him, forcibly relieving him of his armour, his protection, eating away at exposed flesh. Painful screams issued forth from him as the fireball exploded, hurtling clear of what had been their ring.

Silence immediately befell the ring. Metaknight lay next to Samus unmoving, unconscious. Dead center, Zelda panted. She had poured much power into her attack. She had waited for the exact moment to attack. Her patience had paid off. She had become the victor. She looked up towards Samus who looked down at her in awe and surprise. She was sure Samus had not expected her to have that sort of side within herself. It was a side that was kept in check, only to be unleashed in the tides of battle of where honour and duty would come into play. It was a side of her only seen on the battlefield, and in the ring.

A bright smile formed on her face as she raised her sword in victory.

"We did it, Samus," she mouthed. Samus could only smile. That was all she could saw in response to Zelda's statement. This victory was indeed theirs.

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Samus could only grin in amusement. Laying the princess down on a bench, they shared a smile together. They had been victorious. Gleaming around their waists were belts recognising them as the most powerful team. They had showed that they were truly the best.

"Nice going," Samus stated, sitting down on another bench.

"Thank you," Zelda sighed, refusing to get up from the bench. "I have…never felt so exhausted before…"

"You've body probably did a lot more than it could naturally do," Samus noted, seeing how Zelda's limbs occasionally twitched, most likely from adrenaline and overtaxed muscles. "You're probably going to go to bed tonight feeling extremely sore."

"A small price to pay, for our victory," Zelda sighed. "I may be exhausted, but I still plan to celebrate our victory, even if it is not as jubilantly as I had planned."

"You're one heck of a princess," Samus sighed, and started to undo the buckles of Zelda's armour. "C'mon, let's get the hell out of these clothes, shower, and meet up with the others. They're probably waiting."

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"To Samus and Zelda," everyone cheered, bringing their glasses together in a toast for the victors. Gathered at one of the many pubs that littered the city, they had gathered up a few tables together where they sat together and dined. Conversations filled the room as various stories and discussions flew across the table. Jokes were told while people laughed. Insults were made while the victims took it in stride. Alcohol was consumed as they all entered varying states of inebriation.

Samus smiled slightly. Despite the fact everything here was for her and Zelda, she was not big on crowds. While she was not claustrophobic or had issues with people considering she hit bars in her galaxy regularly, she was not used to the social setting she found herself in. Before, her experiences with bars often had her closing herself off from the world around her and let her mind focus on anything that came to mind or work. There were no people trying to get her into a conversation, there were no people who cared about her presence, there were no people who were celebrating in her honour. This time, it was different; everyone was doing what she normally didn't have to deal with. And having never experienced this setting, she was at a loss of what to do. The most she could do was smile as best she could, and tried to at the very least listen whenever they were pulled her into a conversation.

But despite it all, Zelda had stayed with her as best as she could, helping her, supporting her, talking to her to see if she was doing fine, and to help prevent her from getting bored. Unlike Zelda who grew up in such settings, she knew Samus needed to take these sorts of things slow at a slower pace. But despite it all, the mood couldn't have been better. Everyone was jubilant. Conversations were abuzz, drinks were being consumed, and people were sharing in the victory Samus and Zelda had obtained. It was the party for the ultimate team, and they weren't going to waste the night.

"How do you feel?" Zelda asked Samus sitting down slowly next to the woman, minding the fact her body became incredibly sore as the night wore on.

"Extremely uncomfortable," Samus sighed. "This is not something I'd probably like to do on a regular basis. You?"

"The same, save for different reasons," Zelda grimaced. "Perhaps some fresh air would do us good."

"Best idea I've heard all night," said Samus, helping the princess up onto her feet, waving off towards some of the guys to let them know that they would be back.

Falling into a comfortable silence, the two walked along the sidewalks of Smash City. Neither said a word for some time, wanting to take a chance to enjoy the silence. Despite the din of the streetlamps and the roars of the engines on the road, it was a silence they both could appreciate. It allowed them a little moment to let their mind wander and do what it wanted, even if it for just a brief moment.

"Samus, if I may, I would like to ask a somewhat personal question," Zelda stated suddenly.

"I suppose…" Samus slowly replied, not sure how to make of the statement.

"What do you think of me?" she asked.

"Pardon me?!"

"What do you think of me?" she repeated, this time looking up at Samus in the eyes, signifying that it was a serious question that she wanted answered.

Samus took a moment to ponder her answer. She was an interesting person. She was someone she felt she could actually talk to on a completely different level, compared to her clients. She was an incredible warrior, one whom she could respect. Despite her status of royalty, she had never flaunted it or ever tried to take advantage of her power. More thoughts entered her mind, but she couldn't make sense of all of them. Voicing her thoughts, she watched Zelda's eyes light up somewhat before it broke into a happy smile. Watching her smile, she felt something swell within her. Somehow, the thought of being able to make Zelda smile like that made something within her to rise. It was an odd constriction on her heart, but it wasn't something painful. It was rather pleasant. At first she put it off as because she had made Zelda happy, but the answer didn't seem to satisfy it. There was something more to it that she just wasn't getting, and she had no idea as to what it was.

"I'm glad," Zelda finally stated, taking Samus's hands in hers. Samus raised an eyebrow slightly noting the redness that began to tint Zelda's cheeks. It was a peculiar reaction considering that she had done this before. But this wasn't like before. As they continued walking, Samus noted that she was acting a lot different than how she normally acted. While she was normally composed and had regal air around her, a lot of that seemed to slip away revealing a different side of her, one that did not often have a chance to surface since the moments never seemed to really allow it to do so. It perplexed her somewhat, but she didn't know what to make of it.

"Why…why does it feel though that my answer should've been different," Samus stated, somewhat suspiciously.

"Somewhat," Zelda agreed.

"Then what is it?" Samus asked, a bit curious.

"I've discovered something," Zelda admitted, and continued on before Samus could say anything. "But I see that you haven't discovered it yet. I…I want to tell you the answer, but I feel if I do, it could distort what could be discovered. Consider this…a test, I suppose, to see if you are worthy of such an answer from within yourself."

"And what is this 'treasure' I'm supposed to discover?" Samus asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Something you must discover for yourself," Zelda sighed.

"Always with the mysteries," Samus sighed as well, rubbing her temples.

"You'll appreciate the answer more when you discover it, rather than if I told you," Zelda sagely stated. "Come, the others are waiting for us."

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The following morning, they stood before the portal that would take Zelda and Link home. Having bid to farewell to everyone the night before, only they and Samus were present for the departure, at Zelda's behest.

"This is goodbye, for now," Zelda wistfully stated.

"I suppose," Samus answered, and extended her hand. "Until next time."

"Yes, of course," Zelda replied, and took Samus's hand in hers only to pull her into a hug. "I thank you for your friendship, and I wish you safe journeys through your endeavours."

A bit surprised, Samus awkwardly returned the hug, having never been hugged since her days as a teenager. Having lived mostly a life of isolation, it was another social act she wasn't used to anymore. But nonetheless, she tried her best to reciprocate the gesture. It was the least she could do.

"Thank you," she replied back. "Umm…good luck as well, with…whatever it is you normally do." Eventually letting go of the princess, she turned her attention towards Link where they hand a warrior's handshake, signifying their respect for the other; it was a handshake that she was more familiar and more comfortable with, rather than the hug she had just shared with Zelda.

"Perhaps you should visit the place that began all this," Zelda stated.

"Pardon?"

"If you wish to be free from your past, you should visit your old home…perhaps…at the very least commemorate the sacrifice of your mother and father," Zelda elaborated. "I believe that it will heal some of your old wounds…I know that I should have said this sooner…but nonetheless, I feel it prudent that I tell you this now, while I still can." Samus remained silent, unsure of how to respond. Unfortunately, she had no time left.

"Until then," Zelda stated, before walking through the portal with Link behind her.

Alone, Samus watched the portal collapse in front of her, leaving her alone with her thoughts; confused and taken aback by Zelda's recommendation, she was unsure as to how to make sense of it. She hadn't been home for years, and all of a sudden she was told to do so. She had no idea whatsoever of how to respond to that, especially now since the person who had told her to was now gone. Strangely enough, she felt somewhat lost now; unsure of the next step she should take now that the main events were done. Although she knew what she should be doing now, which was to leave immediately and resume her work, she felt lost and in an awkward position, indecisive even. She just had no idea how what action to take, except to follow Zelda's recommendation, and go home.

But the question was, "How can I go back…to where it hurts most?"


	10. Chapter 10

**My Dream My Life**

**Chapter X Homecoming**

**Well…this has been sitting on my hard drive for a while. Enjoy.**

Samus squeezed and relaxed her fist over and over again as she contemplated. Despite following Zelda's advice to go home, she couldn't find the strength within herself to input the commands to descend down upon the planet that had been once her home planet, knowing what would lie in wait for her: ruins. Abandoned after the Space Pirate attack years ago, she knew for a fact that she would find nothing, but the remnants of a place she had once called home. It was place that held memories of a part of her that she had left behind so many years ago. She had long since associated herself with that girl back then. Despite the fact that she lived on in the memories of that place, that little girl and the huntress were two different people, living in two different worlds. That girl lived in a warm, happy, loving place. She lived in the coldness of space, where day by day she fought in the darkest corners of space, killing others so that she may reap the benefits of their deaths.

"This is stupid," she muttered, finally relaxing into the pilot seat. Burying her head into her hands, she took slow deep breaths to control the anxiety that was building up inside. She didn't want to deal with it. She had put the memories behind her, but somehow she found herself at the very place she thought she'd never set foot on again. She smiled sardonically at the idea that Zelda was starting to become an influence on her choices. But surprisingly, it didn't bother her too much. To a point, she could almost say that she valued Zelda's wisdom and advice. After all, she did have the Triforce of Wisdom to back her up.

"I wonder if I could ever have her strength of character," she muttered. Looking up at her old home a thought crossed her mind: she never really did say goodbye to her mother and father. With that thought suddenly at the forefront of her thoughts and before she realized what was happening, she watched as K-2L rapidly come closer and closer to her, barely feeling the atmospheric resistance against her ship. As the ruins of the colony slowly came into view, she could feel the bile rising up in her throat. Trying to take calm, steadying breaths, she navigated her ship down to what was left of the space port. Pushing the memories aside, she focused on getting down safely.

Deploying landing gears, she increased power to thrusters as it continued to slow the descent. Fingers dancing rhythmically over the controls, she expertly positioned her ship over her intended landing zone. Silently counting down the distance before touch down, she eased off her thrusters and began to scan the area for possible dangers that may have arrived long after her departure. Multi-tasking the various systems that required her attention, she brought the ship down to a perfect landing, cleared the area of possible hostiles, local and extra-terrestrial, and deployed her Varia suit as a precaution before shutting off her engines.

Rising, Samus stepped onto the platform behind her and descended. And despite all the emotional hardening that she had went through up until now, she could feel her heart leap into her throat. Her eyes wandered left and right as she took in the sight of the ruins before her. Long had the fires that ravaged this very land since died out, but the memories, the burning, and the terror still lingered. She could still hear their horrified screams as if it was only yesterday, echoing deep within the recesses of her mind. She clenched her left hand tightly as she remembered what they had done to the people here; what they had done to her; what they had done to her family.

Finding a familiar trail, she followed it all the while taking in destruction before. Glass shards, door remnants, steel, furniture, roofing, it all littered her path. She could see signs of forced entry as they ransacked the entire colony of its goods. Skeletons littered the walls and ground in crumpled heaps where they died of smoke inhalation or from blaster wounds. From their remains, she could see that many had suffered greatly, while others never knew what had hit them. Her left hand continued to clench and unclench, each time much stronger than before as emotions built up inside her. The more she walked, the more she saw, and the more she realized just how much they took from her, and the more she realized how much she and Zelda were alike in some ways, while differing in others.

Despite the fact she had long determined that the air was breathable, she just couldn't remove her helmet. It didn't feel right to breathe the air. She wasn't sure of why, except that she just had this stubborn refusal to take off her helmet. Perhaps one day she would understand, but until then she would maintain her pointless vigilance and press on, and continued down this painful path down memory lane. She continued to walk, feeling more and more of the past continue to resurface from the depths of her mind, after she had long since buried. A stuffed animal here, the remains of a drawing there, a baby's crib before her, she began to see how her survival was both a curse, and a blessing. She had made it out alive, while other children and her friends had perished. They had died to the cruelty of the Space Pirates, never seeing through their childhood, their teenage years, or their adulthood. She alone carried the memory of this entire colony. She was the last member of planet K-2L. She was all that was left; save for this ruin that indicated that this colony once existed. She was the last living proof that this place ever existed. But at the same time, she carried the painful memory of its end. It would always be with her, always follow her, until the day she died.

Her stride came to a sudden stop as a particular sight pulled a memory to the forefront of her mind.

_MAMA!!!_

Suddenly collapsing to her knees, she looked up to try to regain her bearings. Despite her always alertness, her heavy training, she had not expected, been prepared, was able to deal with the sudden burst of memory. Slowly coming back to grips of where she was, she looked around for what could have brought up the memory in the first place. Her eyes widened in surprise as her gaze landed forward, straight towards a place where the most painful memory laid: the crater where her mother once stood. The very spot where she had watched first hand as her mother burned away.

"Mama?" she shakily whispered, suddenly throwing off her helmet. "Mama…where did you go? Why did you have to go?" WHY COULD I GO WITH YOU?!" Emotions associated with the memories she had long buried ran rampant. Her suit lost coherency and dematerialized as she began to pound the ground viciously as she continuously asked her deceased mother why. Despite going unanswered, she continued to pound the ground more and more. All the pain, all the rage, all the sorrow, it surged forth from within her like a breached dam.

Her rage pouring in full force, the Varia suit suddenly reformed as she aimed where her memories recalled Ridley to have stood so many years ago and fired a volley of plasma fire. Unprepared for the attack, she watched as his phantom falter and scream in pain as the burning plasma at away at his very flesh. Several more rounds were poured in copiously coating him in its unforgiving fire. Dashing into another direction, she charged forward with the ferocity of a bull as she shattered the aged brittle walls of a building and fired a spread of wave beam fire. Her attention suddenly drawn upwards, she jumped through the roof and landed on what remained of it, and fired several missiles upwards.

Screaming, she leapt down and ran past her mother's point of death and began to fire aimlessly in front of her, sweeping back and forth, shooting down Pirates that had long since left and died on other battlefields. But to her, she was back in the past. She was in the moment where she could do nothing before. But now, she had returned and she planned to fix it all. She would save her home. She would avenge her mother. She wouldn't let her mother's death go unanswered. She wouldn't let it be in vain. She just wouldn't.

Faltering somewhat, she tried her best to maintain her assault, but combined with her emotional state, her body had spent it reserved towards keeping everything within her body stable, leaving her with very little to rage with in the first place.

Falling onto her knees, she took long, heavy breaths as she tried to regain her balance and get back up. She needed to fight. She needed to continue. She needed to make them pay for what they did to her. She needed to stop them at all costs. They were going to take away her home. They just weren't. They just couldn't.

Rising up, she prepared to continue on when a particular light caught her eyes, bringing her to a dead stop. Whipping towards it, she fired several rounds straight in that direction. Smoke and dust clouded her vision, but no signs of movement could be detected by her sensors. Slowly entering through the hole she just made, she looked around carefully where she had seen the flash of light. Seeing that her attack had penetrated through additional walling, she directed her attention around the hole on the opposite wall. Catching another flicker of light near the floor, she glanced over to see that it was a picture frame. Taking a moment to look, a sense of familiarity rose up within her, drawing in her curiosity. Cautiously she lowered down and picked it up, only to nearly drop when she took a good look at the image. Her resolve to fight was suddenly smashed aside as a wave of memories flooded her.

It was as if it only happened yesterday. She remembered her first day of school. Her mother had both dropped her off at the classroom, and walked her home. She had come running into the house, and leapt into her father's arms; who had came home early from work. She recalled telling him how her first day went, talking about how nice the teacher was and what the students were like, with the acute detail of a young child of her age.

She was suddenly in the kitchen with her mother. She was staring into the oven watching the cookies bake. She watched as her mother put on a pair of oven mittens and pulled out the pan of cookies and placed it on the window sill, high and out of her reach, waving her finger in a scolding fashion, telling her that they were too hot to be eaten yet. But she didn't care at the time. She just wanted her cookie, especially since she had helped make them. She had whined to the point she had stormed out of the kitchen and took residence in her room for at least an hour, and sat on her bed where she did nothing but pout. When her mother had come in, she had come in with a large helping of cookies coupled with a large glass of milk, her anger almost instantly diminished. Immediately, she and her mother sat down where they shared the helping of cookies and milk together.

She was then at the dinner table. It was warm. Fresh food made by her mother, comfortable chairs bought by her farther through his hard work, a roof over their heads because her mother had inherited it, it was their home. It was her home. They were smiling. Their bellies were being filled by her mother's cooking, while they listened to her father talk about his day. Although she didn't understand a word that was being said, the fact that he was there next to her, brought fulfilling warmth in her heart. He was there. He was right there beside her, and he wasn't going anywhere. She knew that when she went to bed that evening, she would wake up and say good morning to her father as he got ready for work. She was in her own little heaven, and all was right with the world.

"Mama…papa…" she said in a low whisper, her voice shuddering heavily. Leaning back against the remains of the cabinet the picture was found in, she allowed her amour to dissolve as she slid down before resting down on the floor. In her hands, she stared at herself, snuggled in between her mother and father. She remembered when this picture was taken. Her father had a day off, and they had decided to go out have a picnic with a friend of theirs. At her insistence, she had asked that they had a family photo, since she didn't remember seeing any pictures with all three of them anywhere. Of course wanting to appease their young daughter, they had agreed and had their friend take a picture. It was the only one that was ever taken in their life together.

"Mama…papa…" she quietly sobbed as she held the picture tightly against her chest. Tears slowly streamed down her cheeks. Although seen as a cold vision of beauty, those who happened upon this scene wouldn't see a hardened veteran who had seen thousands of battles tempered in the fires of war. What they would see was what lay hidden, deep within the dark recesses of her heart: A wounded, battered, emotionally drained girl, quietly crying her heart out over the death of her family.

"I miss you so much…" Despite having long buried the memories, she had learned very quickly she never allowed it to rest. Although she had never forgotten it, she had never put it behind her. She simply never allowed herself to be in a position to remember, and really deal with it. But now as each tear fell from her eyes, drop after drop, she felt lighter and lighter. Slowly, but surely, she would let go of the memories, and let them rest.

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Patting the last of the soil flat on the ground, she drove a relatively undamaged steel girder into the ground. Wiping the sweat off her forehead, she ran her hand across the writing she had engraved with some tools she had.

_Here lies Rodney and Virginia Aran_

_Husband and Wife_

_Father and Mother to Samus Aran_

_May their souls rest in peace_

And scrawled further down was her stylized S next to her family's name.

"Mama…thank you," she sighed, placing a hand on the ground where her mother once stood. "I can NEVER repay for what you've done for me…never. And perhaps…one day, I'll introduce you to Zelda. I think…I think you would've liked her.

"Papa…I wish I knew where you died. I'd liked to have given you a proper marker…but I hope that you're happy with mama. Maybe I'll see you guys some day…"

Picking up an exact copy of the photo she had found, but encased in a master stronger glass, and steel instead of wood, she pressed the photo frame deep into the dirt. "I hope you don't mind a copy…but I'd like to carry a small piece of home with me everywhere, so long as I live." A hand rose up to her heart where a resized copy of the photo was fitted into a miniature frame that she wore around her neck, hidden from the universe underneath her Zero Suit. The original was kept with the Black Box of the ship, where it would survive should her ship be ever destroyed.

"I love you both," she whispered, rising to her feet. "Thank you…thank you so much…for everything. Please…keep watching over me." Taking a few steps back, she smiled as best she could before turning back to her ship. As she walked back towards her gunship, a gentle wind blew through as it caught her ponytail as it swayed back and forth in a slow, rhythmic dance. Feeling the wind gently caress her face, being the only part of her exposed, she steeled her resolved and continued walking. She never looked back. She didn't need to. Somewhere, deep within her heart, they were walking hand in hand with her, as they saw their daughter off bidding her goodbye.

"Goodbye," she whispered, as K-2L became smaller and smaller. "And…thank you."

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	11. Chapter 11

**My Dream My Life****  
Chapter XI**

"Again…huh…" Staring down at the screen before her, she quietly read the familiar invitation, beckoning her to return to the world of Smash once again to partake in the annual events and competitions. Once more she was being called upon to step into the ring and compete, and once again show that world who was the strongest warrior there was. Unfortunately, Master Hand's invitation also indicated that there was the possibility of another Brawlers tournament, and she was required to compete again to defend her belt. Although she wasn't sure, she had this odd feeling that she was going to end up fighting from the bottom up, with each round most likely becoming increasingly harder and harder.

"Damn that Hand," she muttered, letting out a tired sigh. Starring off towards the stars beyond, she let out a tired sigh, with a part of it directed to the person who had even handed her the title Brawler of Brawlers: Princess Zelda. Ever since they had parted ways one year ago, the princess had been a source of great confusion, in addition to being a constant nagging on her mind. It sort of annoyed her since she couldn't get a moments rest without the princess being on her mind one way or another. She always had this odd ability of being able to just creep on her when she least expected, especially whenever she was out in the field on a mission. Although thankful it had never ended with her running into danger because of it, it often caught her in the most unexpected, and the occasional uncomfortable moments.

And her thoughts ranged anywhere from the time they spent together, to her capabilities as a warrior, to other odd thoughts that crossed her mind from time to time. But regardless, it all still bothered her that she could allow her mind to trail off like that. But despite it all, she had to admit that she wasn't always a bad influence.

It was, in fact, thanks to her that she was finally able to have some closure over her parent's deaths. Reaching up to the small picture frame around her neck, she opened up the cover, revealing the family portrait. Allowing a fond smile to form on her lips, Samus knew that she couldn't fully consider Zelda a useless hindrance to her life. It was through her that she had this opportunity. She had no doubt that without her, she probably wouldn't have ever considered going back home. But now looking back on her visit home, she felt that familiar connection she once held towards Zebes before its fall. But unlike Zebes, K-2L was her true home. It was the world where she was born and raised for the first few years of her life. Although both held fond memories, K-2L held her roots. It was the starting point of her history. She could never really part with it. It was a part of who, and what she was. That would never change.

"Just what are you doing to me," she whispered, closing the frame and let it dangle around her neck. Sending a reply to Master Hand, Samus prepared her ship for the jump to the world of Smash. She was changing, that much she knew. But how she was changing, and what was changing to, she wasn't sure yet. But one thing for sure was the fact that she was more concerned about her life, and how the present life she lived wasn't going to fulfill her in the long run. Having developed her sense of forethought since her youth, she always knew that the path she led wouldn't ever lead to a better future for her, but she had never really bothered with it. She never believed she would live long enough to even have a mid-life crisis. There was just never a point to be really concerned over something so trivial.

But looking upon it now, although she was only 20 at the moment, if she wasn't careful, more than half of her life would flash by, and she would be a 40 year-old woman, who had lived a life of nothing but battles and hunting. She would've spent so much of her life bounty hunting that she wouldn't know what to do. That would be the life she would know if she continued down this path. But what other venue was there for her to choose? She had been raised in the art of war. She grew up to be a fighter. She wasn't sure if she could truly ever put down the proverbial sword, but at the rate she was going, she would most likely never even be able to put it down to rest.

"Friend," she muttered to herself. It was a word that continued to follow her since they had parted ways. Zelda had wanted to be her friend. She couldn't be sure if she could truly say she and Zelda were friends. But at the very least she could say they were allies, and each other's confidants. She could talk to Zelda, and be able to confide things to her that she wouldn't ever dare say to anyone else. She was someone she could really just relax and be able to let most of her guard down, keeping only the most basic security features within her mind active. With Zelda, she could be at relative peace. But a friend, she wasn't too sure. She didn't even have an inkling of the word friendship. It wasn't a word she associated with anymore.

"I hardly remember the meaning of the word," she scoffed. Gripping the picture, she wondered if her experiences with Zelda be able to open the door to something new.

"You and your mysteries," she grumbled, suddenly remembering what Zelda had said to her during their final night. Even after a year of wondering about that moment, over and over again, she still didn't really understand what the answer was exactly. Entering the final commands, she leaned back into her seat, and once again allowed the thoughts to roll over in her mind.

Zelda had asked her what she thought of her. Thinking back on it, again, she relaxed as best she could and allowed the thoughts to slowly roll through her mind. She was a proud warrior that she respected. She was a royal princess who never flaunted her status. Zelda was someone she was comfortable to be around, and to talk to. As a person, she was someone whom she respected and trusted. She was kind, intelligent, and thoughtful even. And naturally being of royal upbringing, she was beautiful in her own right. And looking back on the few times she'd seen her naked in the change rooms, she was downright sexy.

"The hell?" she suddenly exclaimed, bolting up straight. "Hell that came from?" she wondered aloud. She never recalled the thought ever crossing her mind back then, or the few times she actually decided to sit down and think about it. But unfortunately for her, the thoughts began to snowball.

Eventually her mind began to remember the memories and images of that encounter at the bathhouse with greater clarity. With near-perfect recollection, she remembered what went through her mind during those moments: feather light touches; smooth milky-white skin; soft subtle curves; beauty incarnate standing right before her, expressing her concern over her scars; the desire, the need to claim what was hers. The need to run her hands all over that body, to enjoy and appreciate all the wonders it had to offer, to mark it as hers and hers alone.

Again she began to wonder why in the world she was sexually attracted to Zelda. She knew the symptoms. She had seen enough men stare and ogle at her to understand some of the basic psychological workings within the mind whenever one encountered someone appealing. But this was beyond that. Somehow, she knew that there was something more, something profound within the recesses of her mind that was waiting to be unleashed. There was this craving, this yearning, this need to be near Zelda; to encompass her very being with her presence. And it wasn't just on a sexual level, but something within her wanted her as a whole; wanted everything that was Zelda. But the answer continued to elude her as she thought more upon it.

"Just what the hell was she talking about," she sighed, leaning back against the reclined pilot seat. Although the train of thought continued to go nowhere, she felt that this was something of greater importance, something she hadn't really considered back then, until now. Now, she wanted to solve this mystery. Just what was this treasure within herself that Zelda was talking about?

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"Is everything ready?"

"Yes milady," the young maiden respectfully replied. "Everything is prepared for tomorrow."

"Thank you," the young princess replied, offering the young girl a smile. "You may retire for the night. And please give your mother my regards."

"I will, your highness," she pleasantly replied back, and quietly left the room, leaving Princess Zelda alone with her thoughts.

Letting out a bit of a sigh, she picked up a thin robe and wrapped around herself before stepping out onto the balcony of her room. Beyond, she could see the Kingdom of Hyrule, affixed before a breathtaking background of forest and mountains, and of course the night sky. Below, the kingdom lightly glowed from the lights of fires as her citizens when about their evenings. Around, the light of the moon bathed the ground, the trees, and the plants with its gentle white glow, driving away some of the darkness that pervaded the night. The skies above twinkled and sparkled while the full moon floated there in its magnificent glory, shining brightly for all to see and enjoy.

A gentle smile forming on her face, she sat down on the railing of her balcony as a small delicate hand reached out towards the stars, as if wanting to grasp something and pluck it from the vastness of the stars and space.

"I wonder where you are…and how you are fairing…" she whispered. It had been a year since she had last spoken with the huntress. A year since she had met that woman that had started a motion that was becoming increasingly and increasingly faster. Since their departure, there was not a single moment where Samus wasn't on her mind. Many questions always ran through her mind, all of them revolving around the single question of her welfare.

Was she able to heal from her injuries alright? Was she able to walk away from her missions relatively unscathed? Was she getting paid well enough for what she put herself through? And many numerous others that crossed her mind throughout the year.

She had considered contacting Master Hand for a means to contact Samus, but she thought better on the idea, because she knew Samus wouldn't be able to appreciate the value of receiving a letter, or a personal communiqué; at least for now. She took solace though being able to at least see her tomorrow when she would once again undergo her usual two week reprieve from ruling the kingdom. Those who knew of her leave were already prepared for what was to come, and were ready to contact her at a moments notice should the need to have her return arise.

"I wonder what sort of stories you have to tell me," she wondered aloud, again.

To the surprise of those who knew she had made a new friend, except Link, she missed Samus dearly. But no one was able to fathom or figure out why, or what Samus did to make Zelda have such a strong longing to see Samus again. While it had been initially been assumed the usual discomfort felt from not being able to see a new friend for some time, they eventually could see that it was something completely different. Despite the knowing look that was always etched across the young princess's face whenever questioned concerning her mood and attitude, she always evaded the questions, ensuring that no one knew the answer to that question. But it was clear she knew what was wrong, but was absolutely refusing to tell. The only question she had ever directly answered was that Samus had no idea of what was going on.

The thought brought a smile to her lips. "I wonder…have you figured out the riddle yet…" She knew the answer to that, but was wishful anyways. If Samus had genuinely figured out what it was that had been spoken of, she would be utterly ecstatic. But it would be unwise to hold to that thought, and wisely backed off; only time would tell whether her wish would come true.

"A new chapter awaits us Samus…don't fall behind," she whispered once more, giving the skies above a final longing stare before retiring.

Tomorrow would be a busy day.

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Waiting, and the ability to maintain one's patience while waiting, was always a skill that required a fair length of time to develop and discipline. The ability to just sit there, for how long as it may be and not grow tired of the waiting, and possibly lose one's temper, was one of the many traits required for someone of leadership position. Having experienced various sorts of environments and situations where exercising restraint and patience was of the utmost importance, Zelda was no stranger to playing the waiting game. In addition, the task of waiting was always an opportune time to simply sit down and reflect.

Quietly sitting on one of many crates in the hangar, Zelda waited for the arrival of one Samus Aran. Having arrived here a while ago, she had requested that she'd be allowed to stay behind and waited for Samus's arrival, which was met with no objections, and was given an escort to stay with her until Samus's arrival so that they both could be escorted to the rooms once she had arrived. The time spent waiting had been in silence, much to the escort's apparent discomfort.

"Forgive me if I'm troubling you," Zelda stated, somewhat surprising the young attendant.

"Oh, no it's alright," she replied back, albeit it tiredly. It was clear that she had been on her feet all day with hardly a break.

"Sit," she kindly requested, indicating to one of the other crates. "You must be tired. It would be best if you sat down and took a break. I fear we may be waiting for a while longer."

"I'm not sure if that's-"

"It would be even more inappropriate if you were to faint on the job, would it not?" Zelda countered, cutting off the young girl from completing her sentence. The girl only resisted for a few moments before acquiescing to reality, and sat down. "Is that not better?"

"Much," the girl sighed in relief. It was clear that she had wanted to sit down for some time now.

"Pardon me?" Raising a delicate eyebrow, Zelda gave the attendant a surprised look. "Your supervisor requires you to stand?"

"Well on the job that is," she answered back. "I'm not supposed to sit when I'm with a client…none of us are…even if the situation calls for it…" Zelda just simply gave her a surprised stare.

"I am….shocked…to say the least," Zelda commented, taken aback by such standards.

"It's nothing to be shocked about," a new voice stated.

"Samus!" the princess exclaimed, elated that the person whom she had been waiting for had arrived.

"Hey," she greeted back, waving her free hand while the other slung her usual duffle bag over her shoulder. "Don't be too surprised with the sort of working standards. It's nothing new to them. It's unprofessional when they're on duty, but if the boss is telling them to stand up even in this sort of situation, then he's an ass."

"Wait…I'm…allowed to?"

Samus let out a sigh. "Yup definitely an ass. Looks like you guys have a new boss. Generally if you're with your attendee and they're doing nothing but sit around, you are allowed to just sit down if you need to. We're not your masters. Besides, it's never a good thing to faint on the job. It could be as minor as getting a scolding by your boss, or it could get you killed."

"Killed?" the girl exclaimed, shocked by Samus's statement.

"In my line of work, yes," the huntress answered, shrugging as she did, which did little to alleviate the girl.

"I do not believe that your supervisor will kill you," Zelda assured, placing her dainty hands upon the girl's shoulder.

"I think it's more along the lines that I've scared her about certain jobs one can get killed from that sort of mistake," Samus commented, noting how the girl was rather pale at this point.

"You're impossible," Zelda muttered, gently soothing the girl's back. "It's alright; don't let it get to you."

Samus refrained from saying anything. They both knew what she said was true, but she decided against it because the last thing she wanted was the princess to give her a piece of her mind. She no doubt that she would not enjoy that experience at all, especially with that sort of brain she had, she wouldn't expect anything less than a total verbal strip down with the least amount of force used.

A few minutes later, Zelda had managed to calm down the girl enough to allow her to recover her wits, and escort the two of them to their rooms.

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Dropping her belongings onto her bed, Samus let out a sigh and sat down on the bed. "The hell am I even doing here?" she asked aloud. Starring down at her hands, she flexed it open and closed a few times as she tried to clear her mind. She wasn't even particularly motivated to compete. A lot of these people weren't even worth her time. There only so few she could really attempt to fight, and even then they didn't come too often. The only possible regulars were Link and Snake. And even then, they've fought together so often now that they knew each other's moves like the back of their hands. If it came down to them, it would be who could outwit the other first. It all came down to faster instincts, and better ideas.

"Screw this," she groaned, and reached into her back, pulling out a pair of white pants, and a white tank top. A shadow of a smile formed on her face, remembering how after she left home she started to piece back parts of her childhood. One of them was the old training clothes she had long stopped wearing out of the fact she didn't really need it anymore.

However, she had a feeling that Zelda would say it was healthy to occasionally delve in nostalgia.

Changing into the set of training clothes, she pulled out a pair of shoes and armbands to go along with it. Despite the fact most of the Smashers were likely out in the town socializing and catching up with old friends, she would spend it training. She never really made friends with any of the Smashers, except the ones who were with Zelda last year and even then she hardly spoke with them, so she spent most of her time training, occasionally gambling during the night. Besides, they wanted her belt, much to her chagrin for both the fact she held the belt and had momentarily forgotten about it, and she intended to be in top form for when they started to issue challenges for her belt.

Lastly grabbing the water bottle hanging off the side of her duffle, she locked her room, and headed out.

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Stepping into the training room, Samus raised an eyebrow having come across Zelda standing, center of the room, with her sword drawn. Dressed in a pair of sweat pants, a tank top, and her mane of hair braided behind, Zelda twirled her blade around a few times, before assuming a stance and launched into a sequence of slashes, cuts, stabs, and parries. From behind, Samus watched with interest. It was clear she had incorporated the combat style she had taught Zelda the year before into her combat form. But not only that, she had taken it and refined it into something that was unique to her and her alone. Seeing the subtle changes to her movements compared to last year, it was clear she had drastically improved since the days of the tag tournament.

Sharp, and crisp, each and every swing, step, and attack made, was performed with a purpose. No energy was wasted. No excessive moves were performed. Streamlined and elegant, she moved liked wind over water; perfection. With a grace and beauty Samus didn't see before, she could tell she was already becoming a force to be reckoned with. It was clear that in between her duties as a princess to her land, Zelda had trained diligently to become a better swords-woman. Samus could recognise some of Link's style of combat in the practice as well. It was clear that she had asked for help on the training; a wise move on the princess's part. Now there was only one question that she had as she watched.

How dangerous was she using her magic?

As Zelda came to a stop, she let out a slow exhale before slowly standing upright again. Without turning, she warmly greeted the huntress. "Good afternoon."

"You've gotten better," Samus commented, not one for pleasantries or small talk, at least for the last several years.

"Thank you," Zelda sighed. Sheathing her sword, she tossed it towards where her bag laid. "Run training program Zelda-02." Samus continued to watch as the ring Zelda stood in spawned three training dummies.

Springing into action, Zelda dropped underneath a punch to the head and swept its feet out from under it. Without pause, Zelda swung her body around and kicked another in the chest before teleporting outside of the trio of training units. In position, she immediately launched her attack, unleashing a ball of fire towards them. Upon contact, the sphere exploded, ejecting all those within the blast clear of the battle ring. But in their place, three more appeared and quickly charged the young princess. With vigour, she advanced forward and engaged in hand-to-hand combat, calling upon the training she had learned from Samus. Countering with all the speed and agility she could muster from her body, she quickly made short work of her foes, tangling them in a mess of limbs and colour before throwing them aside, and launched another series of magical attacks.

From ringside, Samus watched both in surprise and interest at the efficient rate Zelda was dealing with the training. She had becoming surprisingly better. She was not one to be taken lightly. Anyone who afforded that would be a fool and see the folly of their decision the moment they entered the ring. It was clear she was a forced to be reckoned with. Much like her practice with the sword, her martial capabilities were as equally impressive. Sharp, crisp, clean, she had clearly mastered the basic arts of what she had been able to impart upon Zelda, and taken it to a whole new level, made specifically for her. While she had much to learn, it was clear she was capable of great improvements, if given the opportunity and proper training. It also made her remember how foolish she felt for dismissing the princess as someone unworthy of notice last year. It was still alarming how much Zelda had accomplished in a year. While Samus was sure she would still come out on top in a duel, she knew now that she would have to get serious if she wanted to win.

Letting out a sigh, Samus started on a few stretches to warm-up her body. She had a feeling it was going to be a very good workout.

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"Better than I thought," Samus commented, stretching out an odd kink in her back.

"Thank you," Zelda graciously replied. While having heard that compliment from many others, Link including, somehow hearing it from Samus made it all the better. Perhaps it was the fact she rarely commented, or the simply fact that it was coming from Samus. Either way, it pleased her, and she hoped to be able to hear more compliments from her in the future.

"You're hand-to-hand is still sloppy," Samus continued on, "but a lot better than when I had first taught you." Taking a swig of her water bottle, she led Zelda out of the training room towards the showers. "Considering all you know so far is the basics, you've improved. But you'll definitely need to learn more. You need a range to really develop a combat style that will suit your needs, and preferences; especially since you are also a magic user, it'll come in handy when you're able to actually take what I teach you and put it into practice."

"I look forward to any additional training you deem necessary," Zelda stated, entering the shower room. "However...any initial observations that you would care to make?"

Samus wore a bit of a thoughtful expression as she went over the training in her mind. Picking out a few highlights that she believed were most important, she began her explanation. "Your use of magic can be a useful tool. But don't limit it to just offence or defence. Your magic is a deadly diversionary tool. You can use it to direct your opponents into directions and positions you want, setting up a trap as it were." Dropping her training clothes into a heap, she walked entered a stall and started to shower. "Psychology is one of the most deadly weapons in a battle. If you have the psychological advantage over them, you can make them do just about anything you want or need them to do to win.

"That, however, can be applied to anything, whether it be in a political struggle, diplomatic relations, or a game of chess. To possess psychological dominance is to possess the advantage. That is always a fearful thing in any sort of battle."

Putting her clothes down in a far more refined fashion, Zelda soon entered the neighbouring stall and started to wash up as well, all the while carefully listening to Samus's thoughts and input. She could tell that it was relatively minor information. She had no doubts that a lot of the comments and critiques Samus wanted to make were more appropriate for when they were actually in a training room. "I see...although...this is a lesson I am familiar with, considering my position."

"But it's a lesson that must always be reviewed, and re-taught," Samus stated. "You'll never know when you need to brush up on your ability to play mind games. And…we never stop learning. There are always news way to do the same thing; something faster, quicker, deadlier, more efficient. If you think that you know it that will be your downfall. I've destroyed many people who made the critical mistake of believing that they had the perfect skill set.

"Let me tell you this: There is no such thing, only degrees of mastery. There will-always-be room for improvement; anything less than that will be your undoing. There will always be someone better, someone stronger than you. You must always be improving yourself."

"A wise lesson indeed," Zelda agreed, opting to stand under the shower head as the water continuously cascaded down upon her body, the warmth of the water letting her muscles relax after a fruitful afternoon of training. Having been training regularly over the past year, her stamina progressed on and on as she was able to endure longer and heavier training sets.

"And I agree...it is a lesson that must be taught over and over, even to those who are familiar with the lessons. Anything else would be...disastrous."

Samus said nothing, satisfied that she had made her point towards the young Hylian princess. Hopefully, by the time these events ended, and it was time for them to part ways again, Zelda would become far more powerful than she was when she arrived. Although not likely, she had a feeling that she would somehow come out of this stronger, if only in a small amount. If last year was any indication, she would be taught something else by the princess. But what was the lesson, she would find out in time.


	12. Author's Note

Hey guys, it's Marine Brother Shran here to let you guys know that this version of My Dream, My Life will be discontinued in favour of a revision of the story.

I thank you guys who've been following this story since its original posting. But now that I'm older and have developed as a writer, I see some flaws that I'm not happy with. So I've decided to take the original draft I have, and have begun a massive revision and rewrite of the story.

While fundamentally it's the original story, I'll be making some changes to the dynamics of the story, along with expending some scenes, curtailing others, or outright removing them for plot or story flow reasons.

So hop over to the new version of the story, which is the same title, or you can find it in my profile, and I'll see you guys on the other side!

Marine Brother Shran


End file.
